Overview

How to regulate the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next has been hotly debated among politicians, legal scholars, sociologists, economists, and philosophers for centuries. Bequeathing wealth is a vital ingredient of family solidarity. But does the reproduction of social inequality through inheritance square with the principle of equal opportunity? Does democracy suffer when family wealth becomes political power? The first in-depth, comparative study of the development of inheritance law in the United States, France, and Germany, Inherited Wealth investigates longstanding political and intellectual debates over inheritance laws and explains why these laws still differ so greatly among these countries. Using a sociological perspective, Jens Beckert sheds light on the four most controversial issues in inheritance law during the past two centuries: the freedom to dispose of one's property as one wishes, the rights of family members to the wealth bequeathed, the dissolution of entails (which restrict inheritance to specific classes of heirs), and estate taxation. Beckert shows that while the United States, France, and Germany have all long defended inheritance rights based on the notion of individual property rights, they have justified limitations on inheritance rights in profoundly different ways, reflecting culturally specific ways of understanding the problems of inherited wealth.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jens Beckert ,  Thomas Dunlap
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.652kg
ISBN:  

9780691124971

ISBN 10:   0691124973
Pages:   384
Publication Date:   09 December 2007
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Replaced By:   9780691134512
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Out of stock  

Language:   English

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Inheritance and Modern Society 1 1.2 Social Dimensions of Inheritance Law 12 Chapter 2: The Right to Bequeath: Testamentary Freedom and the Individuality of Property 21 2.1 France: Equality versus the Freedom of Private Disposition over Property 23 2.2 Germany: Testamentary Freedom versus Family and Social Justice 50 2.3 United States: Equality of Opportunity versus Individual Rights of Disposition 69 2.4 Conclusion 80 Chapter 3: Equality and Inclusion: The Inheritance Rights of the Family 83 3.1 The Principle of Equality in Intestacy Law 87 3.2 The Spouse in Intestacy Law 90 3.3 The Integration of Illegitimate Children into Inheritance Law 99 3.4 Conclusion 109 Chapter 4: Political Structure and Inheritance Law: The Abolition of Entails 114 4.1 The Double Abolition of Substitutions in France 119 4.2 The Delayed Abolition of Fideikommisse in Germany 131 4.3 The Abolition of Entails in the American Revolution 156 4.4 Conclusion 163 Chapter 5: Social Justice through Redistribution? The Taxation of Inheritance 167 5.1 Equality of Opportunity versus Private Property: The Estate Tax in the United States 171 5.2 Sense of Family versus Social Justice: The Inheritance Tax in Germany 209 5.3 Destruction of National Wealth? The Progressive Inheritance Tax in France 243 5.4 Conclusion 270 Chapter 6: Conclusion: Discourses and Institutions 275 APPENDIX: THE METHOD OF CONTENT ANALYSIS OF PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 295 NOTES 299 REFERENCES 343 INDEX 367

Reviews

Sociologist Beckert provides a thoughtful overview and analysis of the development of inheritance law in the US, Germany, and France, focusing on the period from the 1700s to the present... Beckert successfully argues that the three countries' trajectories have reflected important cultural, political, and economic differences, and he rejects earlier arguments that the process has been driven by increased individualization. Because the book is balanced and knowledgeably covers an immense amount of ground, the reader quickly comes to respect Beckert's arguments and insights. M. Whaples, Wake Forest University, for Choice Breathtaking in its detail and logic, Beckert's analysis is constructed with the precision of an economist building a model. -- Livio Di Matteo Canadian Journal of Sociology Inherited Wealth is foremost an enjoyable and erudite invitation to an extremely interesting yet understudied research area. Beckert successfully captures the reader's interest in the empirical relations and normative issues addressed in his book. -- Andrea Pozas-Loyo Law and Politics Book Review Translated into English and aimed at an academic audience, this volume draws on a wealth of French and German sources not readily accessible to Anglophone scholars and offers an unusually comprehensive comparative analysis. -- Anne Alstott Socio-Economic Review Jens Beckert has produced a fascinating and admirable work... Beckert offers a number of interesting ideas. He goes over the important debates and the writers on inheritance law and thus contributes to intellectual history... He has a methodology for exploring debates, content analysis, that is worthy of attention because it can be obviously used in a vast number of American studies of ideology--indeed, a formulation that I think is particularly apropos to the Civil War era... The interpretations are sound, the use of theory wise, the methodology instructive, and the information provocative. For individuals in legal history, political history, and transatlantic studies, this book comes with the highest recommendation. -- James Huston Journal of Social History

Author Information

Jens Beckert is a director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne, Germany. His books include Beyond the Market: The Social Foundation of Economic Sociology (Princeton).

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