Xenophon’s ‘Sustained Civic Income’ in the Ways and Means: Naïve, Exploitative and/or a Plan Ahead of Its Time?

Abstract

This article examines Xenophon’s proposal for what will be termed here a ‘Sustained Civic Income’ in his Ways and Means (Poroi e peri Prosodon) as an approach for preventing civil strife and promoting a type of self-sustaining prosperity among citizens, based (not unequivocally) on non-imperialist methods. The article considers some of the observable, epistemological roots for Xenophon’s scheme, with particular regard to the moral and political philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, alongside some Spartan exemplars. The article also contrasts Xenophon’s plan with Pericles’ juror pay along with some similar notions put forward by Aristophanes, particularly in his Wasps. The practicality of Xenophon’s plan is assessed with recourse to such real-world figures, in terms of size and population, as are available, albeit within obviously limited degrees of accuracy. The article asserts that the subject of something like a universal basic income is of considerable relevance to the present, perhaps even more so than it was pertinent to Xenophon’s own historical context.