The Defence Versus the Prosecution

Abstract

There are three types of people who are reading this book: there are BI supporters, critics and agnostics.¹ Hopefully, all three groups will find the following chapter to be a useful summary of the main strengths and weaknesses of the BI idea. Before we begin, however, let me restate my own position: I am a supporter of BI so long as it is consistent with socialist, feminist and ecological values. This, I suppose, places me in the camp of ‘agnostic supporter’ because, whereas there are versions of BI which I certainly would not tolerate, I am pretty much convinced that if a new welfare settlement, organized around the above values, is to be established then BI will be an indispensable part of that process.²