Feudalism 2.0

Abstract

This paper argues in favour of significant estate taxation. From a comparison of wealth and income, it stresses how wealth fundamentally differs from income in its growth, distribution, and taxation. It demonstrates how these differences compound to fuel ever-growing wealth inequality. It argues that a 100% estate tax is likely our only tool to address such wealth inequality and that anything less than such a tax constitutes an unacceptable compromise. It, finally, shows how the failure to implement a 100% estate tax would do more than increase inequality: it would fundamentally redefine our society, tearing up the social contract and giving new meanings to notions of power, fairness, and democracy.