Conference explore possible utopias

How would Americans feel about receiving a guaranteed, tax-financed monthly stipend to either replace or supplement their salaries? What about a one-time grant of $80,000 made available to each American citizen when they reach their 21st birthday?

The positive and negative impacts such ideas would have on society will be the focus of four-day conference on economic redistribution, hosted by the Havens Center May 2-5.

“Rethinking Redistribution: Basic Income and Stakeholder Grants as Designs for a More Egalitarian Capitalism,” is the latest in a series of conferences that are part of the Real Utopias project, which explores a wide range of proposals for profound social change.

The event partners UW–Madison professors with faculty from top universities throughout the world, such as Yale, Georgetown, and Oxford.

Conference organizer Erik Olin Wright, UW–Madison Vilas professor of sociology, concedes that there is little political support for increasing economic redistribution, but he says it is a topic that should be explored.

“The Real Utopias Project is based on the belief that it is important to engage in rigorous analysis of alternative visions of institutional change even when there seems to be little support for such ideas,” Wright says.

The conference kicks off at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 2 with a public lecture and discussion at UW–Madison’s Red Gym, 716 Langdon St. The conference will continue through the weekend with a series of discussions between invited guests.