If citizen's income is the answer, what is the question?

Purpose - The article aims to argue that the introduction of a citizen’s income, although a positive measure is in itself only a palliative. What is needed is a radical reassessment of economics which goes beyond the traditional arguments over welfare versus laissez-faire or market versus state. Design/methodology/approach - The article provides an academic critique of present monetary policy, and in particular the emphasis on economic growth as an end in itself, often at the expense of ecological concerns and the quality of human life. Findings – Economics has ceased to be a humanistic discipline but has developed into a set of abstract and inflexible “models” into which human beings and human communities are compelled to fit. Social injustice and environmental degradation cannot be addressed merely by choosing between these models (e.g. between socialist and free market models), or by piecemeal reforms (including the citizen’s income) but by returning economics to a human scale. Originality/value – The article provides a thought-provoking study for economists, social science researchers and think-tanks.