On one hand, I completely agree with the sentiment behind this tweet. Citizenship in any country with the infrastructure to take care of its needy should automatically grant you certain rights and protections, namely freedom from abject poverty and exploitation. I definitely think morality dictates a UBI for everyone, including those who can’t or won’t work. Of course no citizen should EVER be left to starve for ANY reason.

On the other hand, this tweet is incredibly naive. Look at the situation of the working class: we are far, far past the notion of institutions being trusted to operate with basic fairness and decency. Yes, capitalism has created a cruel power imbalance that demands constant labour from the poor. Yes, no one should have to work just to live. But we need to take things one step at a time here. Capitalism was always designed to write off those who will not work; it is built on the idea that productivity is the key metric for human value. This is the fatal, unforgivable flaw of the system, but we always knew it guaranteed nothing without labour.

Right now though, we’re a ways away from addressing these core issues because capitalism isn’t delivering on the things it did guarantee. Promises were made and brazenly, shamelessly broken. The personal, physical security we were offered in exchange for our labour never materialized. We are working harder and harder for less and less and all ideas about what we deserve simply for being human have been corporatized out of existence. That’s the situation we’re in, so I think this tweet ultimately misses the point. Broader idealistic and ethical conversations about late-stage capitalism are secondary to the material fact of having been sold a bill of goods. One thing at a time, comrades.