Abstract: An ecological basic income is one financed through eco-taxes. This principle could both combine the necessary rise in costs of environmental goods with redistribution of income and link sufficiency with different lifestyle norms. Moreover, it can help to switch off the acceleration motors which are responsible for the ongoing social acceleration in modern societies, according to the theory of Hartmut Rosa. It has the tendency to reverse the current productivistic economy into a more authentic production. It can slowdown functional differentiation of society by generating newly communicatively integrated “lifeworlds”. And it can reduce a consumistic culture by giving elements of the “good life” a hospitable surrounding. Finally, it will be shown that an EBI is not only a potential brake for acceleration but is especially well-suited for a step-by-step implementation of the principle basic income itself. This means that there is a realistic way to this utopia.
Keywords: Ecological basic income, acceleration brake, anti-productivistic economy, authentic consumption
Narrative Step: Visions and strategies for transformation