Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis explores the possibility of promoting social justice through the direct
confrontation and rectification of manifest injustices in our existing social institutions
and practices, as opposed to the more conventional theoretical approach of attempting
to offer comprehensive accounts of ideal justice based on the identification of ultimate
principles of justice or perfectly just institutional arrangements. Through an analysis
and moral evaluation of the intergenerational transfer of wealth through the practice
of inheritance, the study attempts to illustrate how a narrower theoretical focus on
specific existing social institutions and practices will enhance conceptual clarity
regarding their morally relevant features and, by taking the actual social and political
context into account from the outset, increase the political and real-world relevance of
the resulting proposal. This study also offers a thorough examination of property
rights, because an understanding of the nature of ownership and the justificatory
theories of entitlement claims necessarily provides the background context against
which the issue of inheritance has to be addressed. As property rights give specific
people claims to resources to the exclusion of others, any considerations on property
rights also brings up questions of distributive and social justice. Within this broader
framework of property rights and distributive justice, this study seeks to show that
inheritance is not only inconsistent with the values underlying capitalism, but also an
unfair and outdated practice that helps to perpetuate economic and social inequality,
which undermines the ideal of democratic citizenship. To this end, a proposal is made
to cap inheritance by placing an upper limit to the amount an individual will be
allowed to bequeath to any other individual(s). It is argued that this limit should be
high enough to allow for the transfer of a family home and objects with sentimental
value, but not so high as to ensure a life of complete leisure to future generations. The
merits of inheritance taxation will then be discussed in detail and arguments in favour
of limiting inheritance will be subdivided into three broad categories: The first
concerns the legitimacy of the practice of inheritance itself, as well as the tension
between the liberal-democratic principles underlying capitalism and the practice of
inheritance, the second relates to the undesirability of the social outcomes that are
realised based on the practice of inheritance, and the third focuses on the potential
gains that the alternative arrangement will bring. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die tesis ondersoek die moontlikheid dat sosiale geregtigheid deur die direkte
konfrontasie en regstelling van ongeregtighede in ons bestaande instellings en
praktyke bevorder kan word, in teenstelling met die meer konvensionele teoretiese
benadering wat poog om alomvattende teorieë van ideale geregtigheid op die
identifikasie van finale beginsels van geregtigheid of volmaakte institusionele
organisering te baseer. Die studie poog om deur die analise en morele evaluering van
die praktyk van erflating te illustreer dat ‘n nouer teoretiese fokus op spesifieke
bestaande sosiale instellings en praktyke die konseptuele duidelikheid aangaande hul
moreel relevante aspekte kan verbeter, en dat die relevansie van voorstellings verhoog
kan word deur die werklike politieke en sosiale konteks uit die staanspoor in ag te
neem. Die studie bied ook ‘n deeglike analise van eiendomsreg aan, omdat ‘n begrip
van die aard van eienaarskap en die teorieë wat besitsreg regverdig noodwendig die
agtergrond konteks skep waarteen die kwessie van erflating aangespreek moet word.
Omdat eiendomsreg vir spesifieke mense regte tot hulpbronne gee tot die uitsluiting
van ander, bring enige oorwegings aangaande eiendomsreg ook die kwessie van
sosiale geregtigheid na vore. Binne hierdie breër raamwerk van eiendomsreg en
sosiale geregtigheid, poog die studie om te wys dat erflating nie net teenstrydig is met
die waardes onderliggend aan kapitalisme nie, maar ook 'n onregverdige en
verouderde praktyk is wat bydra tot die voortbestaning van ekonomiese en sosiale
ongelykheid, en dus die ideaal van demokratiese burgerskap ondermyn. Die studie
stel voor dat erflating beperk moet word deur ‘n limiet te plaas op die bedrag wat
enige persoon van ander persone af kan erf. Die meriete van erflatingsbelasting word
in detail bespreek en argumente ten gunste van ‘n limiet op erflatings word breedweg
in drie kategorieë verdeel: Die eerste betref die legitimiteit van die praktyk van
erflating self, sowel as die spanning tussen die liberaal-demokratiese beginsels
onderliggend aan kapitalisme en die praktyk van erflating; die tweede het betrekking
tot die onaanvaarbare sosiale uitkomste wat ontstaan vanweë die praktyk van
erflating; en die derde fokus op die verbeteringe wat alternatiewe praktyke kan bring.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/80180 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Spies, Frances |
| Contributors | Van Niekerk, Anton A. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | vii, 167 p. : ill. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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