Many of us, in liberal societies, hold the practice of inheritance to be sacrosanct, and attempts to tax wealth transfers from one generation to the next are, therefore, are often viewed negatively...Show moreMany of us, in liberal societies, hold the practice of inheritance to be sacrosanct, and attempts to tax wealth transfers from one generation to the next are, therefore, are often viewed negatively. In fact, it is often quickly assumed that the right to bequeath is entailed by the possession of a property title. Rather unsurprisingly, then, many on the right fringes of the libertarian school —i.e. the philosophical tradition dedicated to justifying strong property rights par excellence— have argued that an inheritance tax cannot be justified. Nonetheless, others working within a left-libertarian framework have also made great strides in challenging the assumption that a right to bequeath is an integral part of private property rights. Working from these insights on the impermissibility of bequest, and emphasizing the autonomy-conferring purpose of property rights, this thesis argues in favor of the justifiability of inheritance taxation. Indeed, the crux of this essay revolves around the contention that libertarian authors fail to acknowledge autonomy as the rationale that grounds the bundle of rights which they defend, which makes them more easily oblivious to the fundamentally objectionable nature of a supposed “right” to bequeath. Furthermore, it is this right to autonomous living which ultimately predicates the justifiability of an inheritance tax as representing enforceable claims to the practice of private property.Show less
This thesis compares the property rights and inheritance rights of women in the Germanic laws of the Visigoths, Lombards and Anglo-Saxons from the sixth to the ninth century AD.
In the last several years, Turkey’s relationship with the EU has strongly deteriorated over the country’s equally deteriorating human rights conditions. However, there was a time when Turkey was...Show moreIn the last several years, Turkey’s relationship with the EU has strongly deteriorated over the country’s equally deteriorating human rights conditions. However, there was a time when Turkey was dedicated to its reform process for the purpose of EU accession. As the EU views itself as a normative power, and it had been relatively successful in advancing minority rights in the CEECs, why had it not been able to do the same in Turkey? This thesis researched: why was the EU unable to advance the Aramean property cases during the height of Turkey’s accession negotiations (2005-2011)? It tested this question based on Nye’s (2008) use of smart power, wherein public diplomacy plays a central role. Additionally, it tested Schimmelfennig & Sedelmeier’s (2004) application of carrots and sticks in the case of EU accession. It found that, with regard to Turkey in the Aramean property case, the EU failed to engage in public diplomacy and lacked credibility to effectively apply its carrots and sticks against Turkey.Show less
The principle that persons are entitled to the fruits of their labour is a central facet of both libertarian and Marxist theories, as well as a commonly shared intuition in political debate. It is...Show moreThe principle that persons are entitled to the fruits of their labour is a central facet of both libertarian and Marxist theories, as well as a commonly shared intuition in political debate. It is often derived from self-ownership. This thesis argues that such a derivation is invalid because it rests upon an equivocation of the concept of ownership. It is possible that persons have certain ‘property relations’ to themselves, but not others: the right to possess and manage themselves, but not a full right to the income generated by their assets or capital value. The thesis defends such a non-libertarian view of self-ownership. A qualified version of the labour theory of property acquisition can be saved by appealing not directly to self-ownership but to the related argument from personal identity, which says that actors have a personal connection to their labour, which generates a prima facie right to the fruits of one’s labour. Combined with desert considerations that arise due to the positive moral value from contributing to the world through labour, this can become an actual right. Such desert considerations should track responsibility in accordance with luck egalitarian principles.Show less
This study investigates the effect of population density on the development of land rights in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe from 1923 to 2013. By comparing three former British colonies with...Show moreThis study investigates the effect of population density on the development of land rights in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe from 1923 to 2013. By comparing three former British colonies with remarkably different population densities, this thesis explores the hypothesis that a denser population leads to stronger individual property rights over land. Through an in-depth analysis of the history of land rights, the relationship between people and land before, during and after colonialism is uncovered, ultimately challenging a Eurocentric model of (economic) development and contributing to the debate on land reform and economic inequality and in Southern Africa.Show less
