Overview

Daniel Halliday examines the moral grounding of the right to bequeath or transfer wealth. He engages with contemporary concerns about wealth inequality, class hierarchy, and taxation, while also drawing on the history of the egalitarian, utilitarian, and liberal traditions in political philosophy. He presents an egalitarian case for restricting inherited wealth, arguing that unrestricted inheritance is unjust to the extent that it enables and enhances the intergenerational replication of inequality. Here, inequality is understood in a group-based sense: the unjust effects of inheritance are principally in its tendency to concentrate certain opportunities into certain groups. This results in what Halliday describes as 'economic segregation'. He defends a specific proposal about how to tax inherited wealth: roughly, inheritance should be taxed more heavily when it comes from old money. He rebuts some sceptical arguments against inheritance taxes, and makes suggestions about how tax schemes should be designed.

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9780198860006

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Reviews

The argument is developed clearly ... Daniel Halliday's book would be a fine source for the principles by which to judge the effectiveness of the current system ... Daniel Halliday has made a cogent argument for a more concerted effort to reduce social segregation and its malign effects. * Mark Hannam, Times Literary Supplement * I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in contemporary issues concerning distributive justice. * Blain Neufeld, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR) * Densely packed and succinctly written book which is analytical political philosophy at its best: clear, rigorous, and admirably sharp... anyone remotely interested in egalitarianism will find much to reward them in this outstanding book. * Jonathan Seglow, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice * The Inheritance of Wealth marries a discussion of the principles involved with a sketch of what he sees as some of the key empirical features of contemporary inequalitymaking readers ponder a difficult subject. * Daniel Ben-Ami, Financial Times * I recommend Halliday's book in large part for its ability to raise good questions. * Jason Brennan, Philosophers' Magazine * [An] elegantly written book ... this is a ground-breaking work ... anyone interested in issues of social justice needs to engage with this thoughtful and easily accessible text. * Adrian Walsh, Australian Book Review * Although indeed perhaps precisely because inheritance taxation seems to be on the retreat everywhere, analysis of the implications of inheritance for social justice has never been more urgent. Halliday's thorough, thoughtful and provocative book is therefore hugely valuable and especially timely. * Geoffrey Brennan, University of North Carolina, Duke University, and Australian National University * Inheritance of Wealth offers fresh insights into the moral problem posed by inheritance. Halliday's analysis draws on traditional sources to challenge contemporary inequalities and usefully links economic segregation to the inheritance of wealth. * Anne Alstott, Jacquin D. Bierman Professor in Taxation, Yale Law School *

Inheritance of Wealth offers fresh insights into the moral problem posed by inheritance. Halliday's analysis draws on traditional sources to challenge contemporary inequalities and usefully links economic segregation to the inheritance of wealth. * Anne Alstott, Jacquin D. Bierman Professor in Taxation, Yale Law School * Although indeed perhaps precisely because inheritance taxation seems to be on the retreat everywhere, analysis of the implications of inheritance for social justice has never been more urgent. Halliday's thorough, thoughtful and provocative book is therefore hugely valuable and especially timely. * Geoffrey Brennan, University of North Carolina, Duke University, and Australian National University * [An] elegantly written book ... this is a ground-breaking work ... anyone interested in issues of social justice needs to engage with this thoughtful and easily accessible text. * Adrian Walsh, Australian Book Review * I recommend Halliday's book in large part for its ability to raise good questions. * Jason Brennan, Philosophers' Magazine * The Inheritance of Wealth marries a discussion of the principles involved with a sketch of what he sees as some of the key empirical features of contemporary inequalitymaking readers ponder a difficult subject. * Daniel Ben-Ami, Financial Times * Densely packed and succinctly written book which is analytical political philosophy at its best: clear, rigorous, and admirably sharp... anyone remotely interested in egalitarianism will find much to reward them in this outstanding book. * Jonathan Seglow, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice * The argument is developed clearly ... Daniel Halliday's book would be a fine source for the principles by which to judge the effectiveness of the current system ... Daniel Halliday has made a cogent argument for a more concerted effort to reduce social segregation and its malign effects. * Mark Hannam, Times Literary Supplement *

Author Information

Daniel Halliday teaches political philosophy at Melbourne University. He works mainly on topics relating to justice and political economy. He holds a PhD in philosophy from Stanford University.

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