>Can you argue convincingly that these people would have been just as successful without the advantages of their births? I suspect that would be quite difficult

>Can you argue convincingly that these people would have been just as successful without the advantages of their births? I suspect that would be quite difficult. Why shouldn't people be advantaged because of their birth? The most important thing to progenitors is usually their progeny. Many would even say securing privileges for their progeny is the reason they built what they did in the first place. If I work hard and build something, you can be assured I would want my son and 3 daughters to be able to share in the benefits, and I would hope that my work makes them more successful in their lives than they otherwise would've been. How is there any problem with that? The real issue is that we don't want people to be unfairly advantaged and we don't want to have a system that builds exclusive monarchies and dynasties. We don't have such a system. You can still become a self-made man in the United States, and thousands of people do it every year. I don't see how the system of inheritance we have now is unfair, except insofar as many people are jealous and want to take things neither they nor their parents have earned.