CEPS Summer School

13th Summer School​ in Political Philosophy ​and Public Policy

Justice in Inheritance

July 6-8, 2022
University of Minho, Braga – Portugal

​The question of how to justify, address and regulate inheritance is of crucial importance for egalitarians. If contemporary market societies have a tendency to concentrate wealth and capital, the taxation of inheritance and of inter vivos gifts may be one important way to mitigate this dynamic. Whether inheritance should be taxed is an issue that has, however, been fairly neglected by theorists, particularly in the realm of political philosophy. There is also evidence that it arouses a greater deal of opposition than other purportedly egalitarian proposals, namely a wealth tax; opposition not only from the most advantaged but also by those who could gain the most from it.
A concern with the fair value of equality of opportunity may be a consideration in favour of an inheritance tax of some kind. John Rawls defines fair equality of opportunity as equal access to elite positions within institutions (e.g., education, but also political offices, jobs, amongst others) for persons who are similarly endowed and motivated. Unequal wealth inheritance concedes some a comparative advantage in the pursuit of further education and in obtaining cultural resources – in the form of travel, for example – that afford one a greater chance to succeed. Concerns with the impacts of segregation and transmission of social capital might also favour inheritance taxation, if we establish the role inheritance has in transmitting both financial and non-financial capital.

Past Editions