Academic Work - Otto Lehto's Homepage

For my UP-TO-DATE list of publications, check out my PhilPeople profile: https://philpeople.org/profiles/otto-lehto

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My Curriculum Vitae (Feb 2026): download CV

My Ph.D. thesis:

(2022) (Ph.D. thesis) Complex Adaptation and Permissionless Innovation: An Evolutionary Approach to Universal Basic Income. Political Economy, King’s College London.

Peer-reviewed publications:

(forthcoming) Nozick on Intellectual Property. In F. Wendt (Ed.), Rereading Nozick: New Perspectives on Anarchy, State, and Utopia. Routledge.

(forthcoming) Securing a Dignified Minimum Income: Uncertainty, Complexity, and Universal Basic Income. In E. Pribytkova (Ed.), In Search for a Social Minimum: Human Dignity, Poverty, and Human Rights (AMINTAPHIL: The Philosophical Foundations of Law and Justice). Springer. Preprint available here: https://philpapers.org/rec/LEHUCA

(2026) Michel Foucault: From Sovereignty to Governmentality. In E. Callahan & L. Komolafe (Eds.), Questioning the State. Palgrave. Preprint available here: https://philpapers.org/rec/LEHMFF

(2026) The Many Faces of Semiotics: Peircean Pragmaticism as a Bridge between Science, Philosophy, and Religion. In A. Biglari (Ed.), Open Semiotics, Vol. IV: Life and its Extensions. L’Harmattan. Preprint available here: https://philpapers.org/rec/LEHTMF-2

(2026) Contemporary Welfare Policies. In R. Epstein, M. Rizzo, & L. Palagashvili (Eds.), Routledge Handbook on Classical Liberalism. Routledge. Preprint available here: https://philpapers.org/rec/LEHCWP

(2026) A Point So Fundamental: Nozick on Intellectual Property. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy. Preprint available here: https://philpapers.org/rec/LEHAPS

(2025) (with A. Schaefer) When Less is More: A Defense of Narrow, Humean Justice. Journal of Moral Philosophy, online first. https://doi.org/10.1163/17455243-20254543

(2025) It Still Won’t Budge: Behavioural Public Policy Struggles to Escape Paternalism. Mind & Society, 24, 469–488. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11299-025-00328-x

(2025) Evolution, Complexity, and Intelligence: the Methodological Foundations of Evolutionary Liberalism. Constitutional Political Economy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10602-025-09475-2

(2025) (with K. Pourvand): Interstitial Dynamism in the Open Society. Constellations, online first. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8675.70005

(2025) (with P. Paniagua) Designing Freedom: Allende, Pinochet, and the Twin Experiments in Cybersocialism and Neoliberalism. Economy and Society, 54(2), 334–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147.2025.2513800

(2025) (with N. Goodman & M. Novak) Institutional Diversity and Innovative Recombination. European Economic Review, 174, 104998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2025.104998

(2025) Power to the Powerless: Evolutionary Liberalism and Social Emancipation. In M. Novak (Ed.), Liberal Emancipation: Explorations in Political and Social Economy (pp. 79–101). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-94406-2_4

(2024) Liberal Neutrality and the Paradox of the Open Future. In L. Hartmann, S. Kaufmann, et al. (Eds.), Political Participation and Universal Basic Income: Narratives of the Future (Freiburg Studies on Basic Income, Vol. 4) (pp. 147-168). Lit Verlag. Preprint available here: https://philpapers.org/rec/LEHLNA

(2023) (with M.P. Fleischer) Libertarian Perspectives on Basic Income. (2^nd edition.) In: M. Torry (Ed.), The Palgrave International Handbook of Basic Income (2^nd edition, pp. 509-528). Palgrave MacMillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41001-7_25

(2023) Hillel Steiner on Territorial Justice. In K.W. Gray (Ed.) Global Encyclopedia of Territorial Rights. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68846-6_422-1

(2023) (with N. Goodman) Intellectual Property, Complex Externalities, and the Knowledge Commons. Public Choice, 201, 511–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-023-01110-8

(2023) Poverty Relief as a Rule-Based Discovery Procedure: Is Universal Basic Income Compatible with a Hayekian Welfare State? In: “Transition Economies in Central and Eastern Europe: Austrian Perspectives,” pp. 140-154. (Ed. Alicja Sielska) London: Routledge.

(2023) Institutional Trust, the Open Society, and the Welfare State. Cosmos + Taxis, 11(9+10), pp. 14-29. https://cosmosandtaxis.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/lehto_ct_vol11_iss9_10-1.pdf

(2023) Cosmologies of Life after Peirce, Heidegger, and Darwin. In: Transcending Signs: Essays in Existential Semiotics. (Ed. Eero Tarasti.) Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 273-288. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110789164-017

(2023) Markkinat, mieli, ja merkitys: kyberneettisiä ja semioottisia unelmia Chilessä. In: Synteesi, 1/2023. (In Finnish.)

(2021) Permanent Crisis Management, the Rule of Law, and Universal Basic Income: A Polycentric Approach. In: Cosmos+Taxis, 9(5+6), pp. 122-136.

(2021) (with J. Meadowcroft) Welfare without rent seeking? Buchanan’s demogrant proposal and the possibility of a constitutional welfare state. In: Constitutional Political Economy, 32: 145–164. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10602-020-09321-7

(2019) (with M.P. Fleischer) Libertarian Perspectives on Basic Income. In: The Palgrave International Handbook of Basic Income (Ed. M. Torry): 439–458. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23614-4_22

(2019) Mitä hyötyä on sananvapaudesta? In: ”Mitä oikeudet ovat? Filosofian ja oikeustieteen näkökulmia.” (Eds. M. Aalto-Heinilä & V. Kurki.) Helsinki: Gaudeamus. https://kauppa.gaudeamus.fi/sivu/tuote/mita-oikeudet-ovat-/2523959

(2018) An Earthquake in Finland. In: “It’s Basic Income: The Global Debate” (Eds. S. Lansley & A. Downes): 165-170. Bristol University Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/2886089

(2018) Basic Income Around the World: The Unexpected Benefits of Unconditional Cash Transfers. Adam Smith Institute, London.

(2015) ‘Better welfare, better markets? A review of “Basic Income and the Free Market: Austrian Economics and the Potential for Efficient Redistribution.”’ In: Basic Income Studies 10(1), pp. 157-160. https://doi.org/10.1515/bis-2015-0007

(2015) The Three Principles of Classical Liberalism from John Locke to John Tomasi: A Consequentialist Defence of the Limited Welfare State. (MA Thesis in Social and Moral Philosophy.) University of Helsinki.

(2014) Performing Culture and Breaking Rules. In: “Philosophies of Performance.” (Eds. D. Martinelli, E. Tarasti, & J. Torvinen.) Acta Semiotica Fennica XLIII. Helsinki: Suomen Semiotiikan Seura.

(2011) Reason and Madness in the Holocaust: Mythologizing a Modern Narrative in 20th Century Prose. (BA Thesis in English Philology.) University of Helsinki.

(2010) Vapauden illuusion loppu – Spinoza ja radikaali determinismi. Synteesi 2/2010, pp. 2-6. (In Finnish.)

(2009) Studying the Cognitive States of Animals: Epistemology, Ethology and Ethics. In: Sign Systems Studies 37(3-4), pp. 369-419. Tartu: Tartu University Press. https://doi.org/10.12697/SSS.2009.37.3-4.02

(2009) The Collapse and Reconstitution of the Cinematic Narrative: Interactivity vs. Immersion in Game Worlds. In: E/C Journal, issue on “Computer Games Between Text and Practice.” (Eds. D. Compagno & P. Coppock.) Italian Association of Semiotic Studies.

Book reviews:

(2023) Review of ‘The Problem of Property: Taking the Freedom of Nonowners Seriously.’ By Karl Widerquist. In: The Independent Review 28(2), Fall 2023, online edition.

(2023) Review of ‘The Last Man Takes LSD: Foucault and the End of the Revolution.’ By Daniel Zamora and Mitchell Dean. KCL Centre for the Study of Governance and Society book reviews.

(2023): Review of ‘Neoliberalism, Strong State and Democracy.’ By Hubert Gabrisch. In: Qeios. https://doi.org/10.32388/MZOW0M

(2022) Review of “A Brief History of Equality.” By Thomas Piketty. In: Basic Income Studies 17(2), pp. 239-242.

(2021) Book review of “Taxation in Utopia: Required Sacrifice and the General Welfare.” By Donald Morris. In: The Independent Review, 26(1), online edition.

(2015) Better welfare, better markets? A review of “Basic Income and the Free Market: Austrian Economics and the Potential for Efficient Redistribution.” Basic Income Studies, 10(1), 157-160. https://doi.org/10.1515/bis-2015-0007

+ Also check out my Goodreads profile, featuring hundreds of reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4024817-otto-lehto

Unpublished research papers (of varying quality):