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The last of the experiments we had heard about that idea of receiving money every month without conditions, also called basic income, It happened in Germany. The test consisted of 1,200 euros per month to 122 participants and the results contradicted many of the topics that we usually hear around the proposal. Ireland has been the next stop, about to finish another unprecedented test: basic rent, but for art.
A salary for the artist. The story It began in 2022at which time Ireland launched one of the most significant pilot programs of basic income aimed at the cultural sector, granting 2,000 artists and art workers an unconditional weekly income of 325 euros, 1,300 euros per month. For three years, without performance or consideration requirements, these beneficiaries enjoyed unusual economic stability in the artistic world, allowing them to fully focus on their creative work.
The initiative, promoted by the then Minister of Culture, Catherine Martinhe was born in response to acute precariousness after the pandemic and was a total investment of 28 million dollars In the sector. Now, as the end of the program approaches in August, the beneficiaries and their defenders face the uncertainty of the return to financial insecurity, while the voices that claim their extension and conversion in a permanent policy of universal basic income grow.
Creative freedom. But there is much more. A prepared report By sociologist Jenny Dagg, from the University of Maynooth, collects the testimony of more than 50 participants and reveals deep effects that go far beyond economic relief. Admission allowed artists to experience, assume risks and fail without constant fear of poverty, which raised quality and originality of its production.
At the same time, many reported substantial improvements in their Emotional well -beingincluding better sleep, less anxiety and renewed confidence in their professional career. The ability to devote time to thought, research or innovation, before a luxury, became creative routine. For many, the program was the first real opportunity to imagine a long -term viable artistic career, without sacrificing dignity or health.
A sociocultural laboratory. He Irish pilot It has also become a world reference in the midst of the growing debate on the future of employment in the face of artificial automation and intelligence. With technological leaders such as Elon Musk and Sam Altman advocating the need for a universal basic income in response to mass labor disruption, the Irish experience It provides concrete evidence that a guaranteed income does not discourage work, but enriches it.
While other similar initiatives in the United States or Germany have been more limited, Ireland opted for a sector that, although not always lucrative, is essential for the symbolic and emotional fabric of any society: art. In this context, driving organizations such as Ubi Lab Network either Basic Inome Ireland They argue that no more evidence is needed: the positive impact is already demonstrated.
The dilemma of the return. And as in almost all these experiments, there is an end. With the conclusion of the program in sight, many participants They express fear Given the possibility that their progress and stability are faded. The concerns on how to maintain the creative impulse without that economic mattress extend through all artistic disciplines.
The Minister of Culture, Patrick O’Donovan, He has recognized The value of the pilot and has promised to thoroughly evaluate its results before proposing new measures, although there is still no certainty about possible extension. Meanwhile, promoters insist that basic income is not only an economic policy, but a essential tool to deal with the multiple crises of the present (economic, social and ecological) returning time, agency and health to those who create, interpret and enrich the cultural life of the nation.
Lessons Thus, and although the future of this Irish basic rent It is still uncertain, its impact has already left a fingerprint in the lives of thousands of artists and in the global debate on the value of unconventional work. Far from becoming a mere experiment, the program has shown that giving people a minimum of security can release their maximum potential.
If you want also, in a world that is vertiginously approaching a New and unpredictable Technological revolution, the question that Ireland poses is not so much if we can afford to implement a basic income, but, perhaps, if we can really allow ourselves.
Image | Pxhere
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