Is Inheritance Morally Wrong?

Author: thett3

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Athias
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It's clear that your understanding of philosophy and such is a lot more sophisticated that mine. What I'm trying to get at, in a somewhat hamfisted way, is that I think of the family as something so valuable that while individuals are individuals, their lives should more or less dedicated to propagating it unless their families are REALLY toxic. For me, I want kids really badly but even if I didn't I would still do it just out of a sense of duty to my parents who I know really want grandchildren. I do think we as individuals have some obligation to our families, honor thy mother and father and all that. When I think about the money I have and the money I expect to earn in the future, a lot of what I'm thinking about is future generations
I don't object as long as the individual chooses to express this sense of duty. And while I personally agree with your sentiments toward the family construct, for me, it does not supersede individualism. To be fair, nothing really does.

We might have a disagreement here. They should have a legal right to do so because otherwise the government is dictating how people spend their money which is obviously a terrible idea. But I would consider an heir who inherits tons of money from past generations and squanders it to be doing something immoral, especially if their own children are struggling. They have a kind of fiduciary responsibility as a steward of assets...I guess this issue is why most serious wealth is held in trusts

On the other hand I do think it's wrong when greedy heirs act entitled to their parents or their grandparents money. So morality is probably a lot more conditional than the framework I laid out in my OP
Personally, I mostly agree with you. I do think that it would be to one's benefit to act as steward of one's family wealth until such a time when said wealth could be transferred to one's children. But when morality is mentioned, accountability comes to mind. If that were the case, would the children bear the capacity to sue or seek damages from the squandering steward? I think a family would do well to help recipients of inheritance to understand the value in adding to and protecting wealth, but at the end of the day the abusus and usus fructus of that wealth is still subject to recipient's decisions.
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@thett3
The above statement was intended for you.
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@3RU7AL
it's also NOT "monogamy"

more like "serial-polygamy" with divorce being normalized
Exactly. I loved what Dave Chappelle had to say on the matter:

...legal marriage is a fucking diabolical leverage game in the United States. I’m just being honest. Devoid of religious significance or the idea of love, marriage is nothing but an awful contract that you shouldn’t sign. I’m just being real. Because you start out loving each other. Then two years later, you’re just building a case against one another… for a hypothetical court date that may or may not ever happen.
Not to mention the cultural promotion of promiscuity which is said to adversely affect one's capacity to pair-bond, and these ridiculous timestamps for which it's encouraged that one gets married. A person gets married anywhere between 6 months to a year after meeting a person, and they wonder the reason at some point down the line that they "didn't really know" the person to whom they're intended, or that person "changed." Furthermore, with the ever increasing propagation of these "identity" movements, the trend of independence from "marital servitude" becomes more and more prevalent.

Yassine
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@ResurgetExFavilla
- I heard before that Islamic Law did not "evolve" enough to adopt 'corporate personhood', which is a ridiculous claim. One, the practice actually originates from the Waqf concept in Sharia, that is non-profit perpetual trust, thus entrusted to God (generally schools, hospitals, mosques & such). Two, for-profit trusts (corporations) are against Taklif, the fundamental concept of human accountability. Duties & privileges, including wealth, can you only be entrusted to a human, as a vicegerent to God. As an actor by-proxy of God's boundaries, only a human can be accountable for the preservation of these boundaries (or lack thereof). An impersonal entity such as a corporation, therefore, does not by design possess any divine permission to act on God's domain. The whole notion is absurd; a perpetual for-profit trust is immune to humans' justice, yet acts on humans' rights. That's chaos of moral & legal boundaries, for these are the rights within & dues without. Inheritance is just an aspect of this action. If not purged, in such system, corporations will grow indefinitely in perpetuity, overcoming states, & even empires.

- As to Inheritance Tax, it's indeed weird. Being a Muslim, the only thing that makes sense to me is static wealth tax, & nothing else. Economy is essentially the centrifugal transfer of wealth, from capital to income, which is labour. New income raises consumption, & new labour raises production. Hence, economic growth. By taxing static wealth, you compel the holder to either invest his wealth so diligently as to make a profit greater than the tax, or keep his wealth while contributing to the economy through that tax. (in Sharia it's generally 2.5%). 
Yassine
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@thett3
I am strongly opposed to the types of inheritance taxes  you see in European countries, which often kick in at very low thresholds of around $100-$300k. I would contend that a person should ABSOLUTELY be able to inherit millions of dollars without the government getting involved at all. Something I don't think most people would agree with. 
- As I mentioned in a previous post, Economy is basically the centrifugal transfer of wealth. Capital to Labour, which is new Income. New labour raises production, & new income raises consumption. Hence, economy rises. More tax on static wealth, means more capital turned into labour. That's good for the economy. I would agree with you if the private entity concerned is investing their profits directly into more innovation & labour, then taxation wouldn't make sense. That, because the collected amount would shrink much more considerably going through the bureaucratic government before reaching the concerned parties, then if it was instead managed by said dedicated private entity.  

ResurgetExFavilla
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@Yassine
- I heard before that Islamic Law did not "evolve" enough to adopt 'corporate personhood', which is a ridiculous claim. One, the practice actually originates from the Waqf concept in Sharia, that is non-profit perpetual trust, thus entrusted to God (generally schools, hospitals, mosques & such). Two, for-profit trusts (corporations) are against Taklif, the fundamental concept of human accountability. Duties & privileges, including wealth, can you only be entrusted to a human, as a vicegerent to God. As an actor by-proxy of God's boundaries, only a human can be accountable for the preservation of these boundaries (or lack thereof). An impersonal entity such as a corporation, therefore, does not by design possess any divine permission to act on God's domain. The whole notion is absurd; a perpetual for-profit trust is immune to humans' justice, yet acts on humans' rights. That's chaos of moral & legal boundaries, for these are the rights within & dues without. Inheritance is just an aspect of this action. If not purged, in such system, corporations will grow indefinitely in perpetuity, overcoming states, & even empires.
I agree that the entire concept is absurd from the perspective of justice. The classic scholastic definition of usury in the Western tradition is 'profit without risk or labor', and that's precisely what a limited liability for-profit corporation provides to its stockholders. I think it's absurd that it arose out of some healthy 'evolution' of Western law; the limited liability corporation was first created in Delaware as a scheme to attract corporations looking to headquarter in the most friendly legal environment possible. It worked, and other American states adopted it in order to regain equal economic footing. That's a just a race to the bottom as far as corruption is concerned, not some profound advancement.

- As to Inheritance Tax, it's indeed weird. Being a Muslim, the only thing that makes sense to me is static wealth tax, & nothing else. Economy is essentially the centrifugal transfer of wealth, from capital to income, which is labour. New income raises consumption, & new labour raises production. Hence, economic growth. By taxing static wealth, you compel the holder to either invest his wealth so diligently as to make a profit greater than the tax, or keep his wealth while contributing to the economy through that tax. (in Sharia it's generally 2.5%). 
How is that administered? The idea has been floated in America, but people always say it would be a nightmare to actually implement. For example, how do you deal with capital flight and offshoring?
Yassine
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@ResurgetExFavilla
I agree that the entire concept is absurd from the perspective of justice. The classic scholastic definition of usury in the Western tradition is 'profit without risk or labor', and that's precisely what a limited liability for-profit corporation provides to its stockholders. I think it's absurd that it arose out of some healthy 'evolution' of Western law; the limited liability corporation was first created in Delaware as a scheme to attract corporations looking to headquarter in the most friendly legal environment possible. It worked, and other American states adopted it in order to regain equal economic footing. That's a just a race to the bottom as far as corruption is concerned, not some profound advancement.
- Absolutely. In truth, usury fundamentally undermines economic production. The global financial institution is essentially a huge Ponzi scheme, that is 'too big to fail'. Wealth is stockpiled for gains (thanks to usury), & old debts are paid off with even greater new debts contingent on new wealth coming in. The problem with this scheme, is that capital is steered away from means of production in favor of even more capital. Less production, thus, entails less labour & less income, hence less consumption. The greatest manifestation of this Ponzi scheme is the USD. The Dollar gives the US total impunity in fiscal & monetary policy. The shock of extreme financial adventures by US institutions is absorbed by the rest of the World, without risk. Traditionally, such adventures always & quickly end in the collapse of the economy & sometimes the state, under hyperinflation. The USD, being the global reserve currency, allows the surplus Dollar to be spent outside of the country, thus never running the risk of high inflation. Close to a trillion USDs are exported every year in exchanged for goods & services, which means a reduction of circulated money within the country accompanied by a simultaneous increase in domestic product, hence little inflation. In other words, the average American gets some $3k free stuff every year for virtue of being an American, at the expense of the rest of the world. This is extremely unsustainable, & pays no regards to future generations & national legacy. I t's just pure maximization of today's wealth at the expense of future generations. The epitome of self-gratification.


How is that administered? The idea has been floated in America, but people always say it would be a nightmare to actually implement. For example, how do you deal with capital flight and offshoring?
- It would indeed be difficult to implement a system like Zakat in a culture that glorifies profit & greed. An underlined modesty & duty to family & state for God is most expected. Systematically, this was done by the Diwan -the state secretary (or registry)- through a process called Istihqaq – to determine & monitor boundaries & assets. This dual practice, both individual duty & state efficiency, should, in principle, minimize capital flight. 

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@ResurgetExFavilla
We don't 'pretend' that favoritism is okay -- favoritism is okay. It's the foundational principle of love. A mother favors her children. A wife favors her husband. A child favors their family. This isn't exclusive to the rich, but to the poor as well, who also dream of having something to leave to those whom they care for, to provide for those whom they value far into the future, and would not break bread to feed the whole city block if it meant that their own children would go to bed with half-empty bellies. You do love to wrap the mantle of the poor around yourself, but poor people by and large aren't animated by the same venomous spite and resentment that you are. They have families and other human ties which adorn their otherwise dire circumstances, and make them more bearable. It's not the poor that feel such burning resentment, but those who have isolated themselves and failed to make and hold on to healthy human bonds and a supportive community.
Yes, you absolutely pretend it is okay.

It is why your crowd, politically, let people rot homeless and neglected, uneducated as they could never afford it, sick and malnourished for much the same reason with parents who themselves were left by the wayside.

I don't mean in the US alone, there's nations more right-wing than US, just look at most of Africa, a lot of South America (excluding Venezuela) and a huge portion of South Asia.

When you neglect your poor continually and let inheritance be the entire decider of one's start in life being pleasant vs abhorrent, you're just another scumbag who poses as a proponent of justice and fairness when what you really support is corruption.
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@ResurgetExFavilla
 It's not the poor that feel such burning resentment, 
You've probably not interacted much with the neglected poor of nations that truly neglect them (as in 100% neglect, I'm talking Honduras, Kenya, Nigeria, Bangladesh, India excluding the parts where they have some sharing with and caring for the poor so on and so forth).

The poor are absolutely left to rot in many places tha embrace familial favouritism. There, you will find the problem.