Transfer State
The Idea of a Guaranteed Income and the Politics of Redistribution in Modern Britain
Peter Sloman
Reviews and Awards
"In UBI histories, the normative and the descriptive easily shade into one another, often at the expense of history itself... Cambridge historian Peter Sloman's 2019 book Transfer State is a rare and notable exception. More than a conceptual hagiography, Sloman's book offers a history of the 'idea' of a basic income in British thought over the last 100 years, tracking its travails through policy circles, trade unions, and government cabinets... [and] recontextualizes the UBI within a wider timeline of conceptions of redistribution and social policy." -- Anton Jaeger and Daniel Zamora, Los Angeles Review of Books
"Peter Sloman's aim in this thoroughly researched book is to 'illuminate a neglected dimension of British social thought, and help explain the enduring appeal of â providing an income floor for citizens through cash transfers'... Any future history of the social security system in the UK, and any future history of reform proposals, will have to stand on Sloman's shoulders." -- Malcolm Torry, Citizen's Basic Income Trust
"Peter Sloman has produced a fascinating, comprehensive, detailed, forensic economic history of UK welfare philosophy, politics and practice, which he interprets and evaluates against the criterion of fit to the concept of universal basic income." -- Geoff Crocker, Basic Income Forum