I don&#x27;t think this is equivalent to socialism and communism _at all_. Socialism and communism propose an alternate _structure_ for the economy - one of state-directed planning. This has been demonstrated to fail pretty spectacularly.<p>Basic income is an extension of the welfare state, which is itself a capitalist construct. It does not presuppose a state-planned economy or really threaten capital ownership or free exchange at all.<p>Yes, many communist countries have attempted some kind of unconditional income. Was this what sapped people&#x27;s desire to work? Not really. What sapped their desire was a complete lack of a reward structure. A universal income doesn&#x27;t destroy the reward structure; it destroys the penalty structure. The big question is whether or not the economy survives that.<p>On top of that, though, most communist economies imploded because decoupling production from market forces also destroyed incentives towards efficiency, innovation, and satisfying demand. Those are the biggest failures of the state economy and those are not related to universal income at all.