Can basic income bring a solution to inequality?

Today, unequal distribution relations both within the country and between countries affect individuals and societies economically and socially. Statistics show that inequality has increased remarkably since the 1970s-1980s. The neoliberal policies implemented and the reduction in public expenditures in this context have a great effect on the increase in inequality. In addition, as a result of the fourth industrial revolution we are in in the future, computer technology will be used extensively in the production process; This situation is expected to increase unemployment by reducing the need for labor force. It is thought that this situation will make the current inequality problem much more serious. Many solutions have been proposed for increasing inequalities around the world. One of them is the Basic Income project. Basic income can be defined as cash income payments made to individuals without any conditions. The main purpose of this thesis is to discuss whether basic income, which is different from other forms of social policy in many ways, can be a solution for reducing inequality around the world. Before discussing policy proposals to eliminate inequality, the determinants of distribution relations should be well defined. For this reason, in this thesis, first of all, the debates on distribution and income distribution in the axis of the history of economic thought are discussed and the development of inequality from a historical perspective is examined. In the light of these examinations, it has been discussed whether the Basic Income project is functional in reducing the problem of inequality through the historical origin of the Basic Income project, its claims, criticisms of the project, discussions in the literature and application examples. As a result of the discussions, it was emphasized that the Basic Income project would be more functional if implemented in a complementary way with other forms of social assistance, otherwise it would be insufficient on its own in solving the problem of inequality.