6: From Universal Basic Income to Aristotle and Back

With this chapter we continue with our exploration of what is needed from a future post-pandemic education system if we are to achieve some of the positive societal outcomes we explored in Chapter 5. In this instance we consider the need for wise decision-making. But, given our predictions for the future, we tie this into the introduction of the type of Universal Basic Income (UBI) we outlined in Chapter 2. This is because if governments do decide to implement UBI, many of us may well end up with more spare time on our hands. This leads to an important question: how do we envisage this new additional time being put to use? In other words what does a world of increased leisure time mean for the dispositions we should be looking to instill in our children in the post-pandemic world, so that they use the time they have effectively? To consider this, it is helpful to again turn our gaze backwards. But in this instance to consider how our ancestors thought about how they might spend their free time, if only free time existed.