Are we still modern? Inheritance law and the broken promise of the enlightenment

Jens Beckert

No 10/7, MPIfG Working Paper from Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies

Abstract: The regulation of the transfer of property mortis causa has been a major concern of social reformers since the Enlightenment. Today, by contrast, the issue of the bequest of wealth from generation to generation stirs hardly any political controversy. Since the mid-twentieth century the topic has lost much of its earlier significance in public debates. In this working paper I show that over the last forty years we can observe a backlash in key areas of inheritance law which breaks the Enlightenment's promise to distribute wealth in society based on individual achievement rather than ascriptive criteria. Hence the question: 'Are we still modern?'

Date: 2010
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his, nep-hpe and nep-reg
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:mpifgw:107

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