Missing Women: The Forgotten Struggles of Single Mothers For Basic Income = Missing Women: The Forgotten Struggles of Single Mothers For Basic Income

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

A recent volume of the Basic Income Studies features the debate: Should Feminists Endorse Basic Income (Basic Income Studies vol.3 issuc3). This topic has been argued in the basic income literature for more than a decade. What is mysterious is that there is no mention of the feminist or women`s movements that actually made demands for BL in the past. I have two aims for this paper. First and foremost to depict the movement in the U.K. that has been almost forgotten in the academic world, to save their voices from collective oblivion. And Secondly to explore why the single mothers` voices have been ignored by Basic Income academics. This will be done not only retrospectively (though surely rescuing the forgotten voices of single mothers is worth doing in and of itself). There are two reasons to believe this history will serve well to support arguments for BL. One reason can be found in the context of today`s Basic income movement in Japan. After the publication of my Beginning Basic Income (Yamamori 2009), several feminist organizations in Japan (single mothers` organization, women`s trade unions, care workers` organizations, a feminist education collective etc.) began showing interest in BI by inviting me to their organizations and then started organizing their own workshops on the subject. On the other hand the book also receives criticism in the vein that it includes information about feminist movements though BI has nothing related feminism. Learning about movements in the past can be empowering for the single mothers of today that have begun to seek a Basic Income. Connecting the mothers with other groups supporting the implementation of a Basic income could be important fur movement building. The second reason can be found in a more universal, theoretical context. lf there arc reasons for ignoring the contributions of single mothers, BI proponents should be clear on those reasons rather than just ignoring them. If there was a flaw in the reasoning that animated past movements, understanding that flaw should help refine current arguments in favor of Basic Income. Furthermore, single mothers raising their voices for a Basic Income is not limited to Japan, there is movement in Canada and a few other areas as well. Constructive criticism among these movement and BI researchers should be a positive force for the promotion of BI.