A renda básica como política social universal e incondicional: um caminho para a erradicação básica da pobreza no Brasil em um cenário marcado pela racionalidade neoliberal

Abstract

This dissertation aims to contribute to the improvement of dialogue on basic income, notably regarding its role in the eradication of poverty. Its objective is to analyze how the implementation of universal and unconditional basic income can contribute to the eradication of poverty in Brazil, in a scenario marked by neoliberal rationality. To do so, it seeks to answer the following question: how can the implementation of basic income contribute to the eradication of poverty in Brazil, in a scenario marked by neoliberal rationality? The study starts from the hypothesis that, despite existing criticisms, the basic income policy is capable of contributing to the fight against poverty in Brazil, provided that it is applied in conjunction with other existing social policies. For this purpose, it resorted to the hypothetical-deductive method, which seeks the answer to the research problem from this hypothesis, adopting a qualitative approach, based on a bibliographical and documentary research, and having as main theoretical references Amartya Sen (2010) and Laval (2018) and Parijs and Vanderborght (2018). This research is divided into an introduction, four development sections and, finally, the final considerations. In the first section, it is demonstrated, from a historical and legal perspective, that Brazil is dominated by neoliberal rationality, which controls and dictates the economic, social, political and legal rules of the country. This research adopts Foucault's view of neoliberal rationality, understanding it as a governmental rationality that influences the decision-making of those who govern and those who are governed. In addition, a methodological analysis of the concept of poverty used is carried out, based on the concept of economist Amartya Sen (2010), according to which it is not only the income that determines who is poor, but also the inability of people to accomplish things they value due to social, political and economic restrictions. The second section presents a history of social policies within a capitalist economic context, especially income transfer already adopted in Brazil, in order to demonstrate that these policies are, as a rule, focused and precarious and use monetary criteria to define their target audience, causing the unfair exclusion of several citizens. The third section, in turn, presents the concept of basic income and the state of the art of matter. The concept used, predominantly, is the development by Parijs and Vanderborght (2018), in which the basic income is characterized by the absence of obligations, regardless of the domestic and professional situation of those assisted, and is, therefore, an individual right, without obligation and universal; in this context, payment must be made, preferably, in kind to the beneficiaries. Finally, the fourth section of development analyzes whether universal and unconditional basic income is a viable instrument, together with other social policies, to combat poverty. It is concluded that, within a scenario marked by neoliberal rationality, basic income is an escape route from poverty, capable of guaranteeing protection for the subjectivity of its beneficiaries and ensuring a way out of food insecurity and pauperization without stigma, if applied in conjunction with other existing social policies.