Is Spain a country for poor men? The theory and practice of the Minimum Living Income

Abstract

The Minimum Living Income ended the anomaly that Spain was virtually the only European Union country that lacked a minimum income scheme at a national level. Many pages have been written about the reasons that allowed its approval at that time, and the problems that the program is facing in its implementation. The aim of this article is twofold. First, to analyze the normative or philosophical foundations of the Minimum Vital Income and, more specifically, to discuss the place that (in)equality occupies in that justification. Second, to examine the Minimum Vital Income within the toolbox of the political egalitarianism in its fight against inequality, poverty and social exclusion.