Universal Basic Services

Local Project

Public services and social security provide people with a set of basic needs to help them in life, such as free primary school education, public roads, and unemployment support. The idea of Universal Basic Services takes this principle further. It extends free services to ensure that everyone's material safety, opportunity to contribute to society, and participation in political decision-making can occur — even if someone lacks financial income.

This could mean expanding public housing and providing everyone with a right to a home, universal access to public healthcare, and free public transport. Free child and adult care could be provided as Universal Basic Services too, as could a basic food supply.

Moving to a society with Universal Basic Services might reduce environmental impacts. Public services tend to provide essentials like healthcare while producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions than private alternatives, as is the case with public healthcare in Europe compared to the private system in the United States. Universal Basic Services can also offer an alternative to carbon-intensive lifestyles. For example, universal access to free, high quality public transport could reduce private car and aircraft use.

While public services are being cut and sold off around the world, the idea of Universal Basic Services as a method of tackling the climate emergency is gaining traction.

GAMEPLAY NOTES

Discard 1 card from your hand, then add 1 Social Resilience token to your player board for each Society tag in this card's stack.