Steven Shafarman

Two major passions drive my writing and my life. One is a fierce commitment to understanding and solving our social, cultural, and political problems. That’s the theme of my 2020 book, Our Future: The Basic Income Plan for Peace, Justice, Liberty, Democracy and Personal Dignity.

I’ve been writing and talking about basic income – often called universal basic income, UBI, or Freedom Dividend – since the mid 1980s, and Our Future is my sixth book about it. Each has a distinct voice and style, constantly seeking to present ideas more clearly, simply, and directly, seeking to attract support from people with all political perspectives. When I started, most people responded with blank expressions or knee-jerk objections. These ideas are now becoming mainstream and bipartisan, and I’ve been thrilled.

My second topic may seem distinct, though for me the two are inseparable, with a core way of thinking. That’s research into the way very young children move and learn, and teaching a somatic education process based on those insights. I wrote about that in my first book, Awareness Heals: The Feldenkrais Method for Dynamic Health, published in 1997. Future books will present the fitness-healing-exercise practice I call FlexAware.

Basic income first, however. That phrase has been my motto over the past decade or so, and I sincerely believe we can achieve it within the next few years.