Reviews for Inherited Wealth

The average rating for Inherited Wealth based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-11-08 00:00:00 Mary Vandenberg Jens Beckert defines the basics of aristocracy as built upon the three pillars of entailment (intergenerational transmission of property - typically with the stipulation that it remain intact), substitution (political position and title associated with the property) and primogeniture (entailment and substitution passing the oldest living male relative). And these three pillars rest upon the foundation of inheritance. In the West, these issues have been confronted in a variety of ways through the centuries. Beckert traces the development of inheritance practice and law since the Enlightenment in three Western countries: France, Germany and the US. The comparison and contrast of the development associated with these three nations is extremely helpful in the clarification of both the social and political development of inheritance laws and practices over the past four-hundred years. Beckert's interest in this work has to do with the vast amount of current wealth that is about to be transferred to subsequent generations, a concern that is not spoken or written about to the extent that it should be. Traditions and current practices of inheritance challenge conventional belief in methodilogical individulism ('boot straps' mentality- belief in the sanctity of individual merit and effort) that predominates conservative economic thought creating tension between the defense of inheritance by conservatives and their insistence that all individuals make their own way in the world.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-01-27 00:00:00 Thor Heimdahl 4.5 - one of the best of its kind.