The Societal Rationalization of the Economy: Guaranteed Minimum Income as a Constitutional Right

The guaranteed minimum income is an idea that is consonant with a social-theoretical tradition which can be traced from G. W. F. Hegel via Eduard Heimann to contemporary social thinkers like Jürgen Habermas and beyond. It is the cornerstone of an expansive theory of social policy expressive of the changes in the relationship between economy and society over the long-term, which I am referring to here as the societal rationalization of the economy. By starting with Hegel's remarks on poverty in The Philosophy of Right (1821/1958), the stage is set to examine the guaranteed minimum income as a policy project with strong constitutional implications. Like Hegel, Eduard Heimann did not address the idea of the guaranteed minimum income directly; yet, his arguably most important work, Social Theory of Capitalism: Theory of Social Policy (1929/1980), provides an excellent frame of reference for appreciating how the guaranteed minimum income exemplifies a radically reformist project of social policy that is pointing beyond inherently regressive social structures. In the writings of Ralf Dahrendorf and Claus Offe, a theory of social policy that treats the guaranteed minimum income as a constitutional right takes shape. This chapter concludes with an attempt at delineating how a guaranteed minimum income should aspire to be one important step toward the societal rationalization of the economy.