The question of inheritance in mid-nineteenth century French liberal thought

Abstract

In this paper, we explore a French debate in the nineteenth century Liberal School: the question of inheritance. We first present the opposition among liberal economists between the advocates of the liberty of bequest and the defenders of its limitations. We then try to show that these contrasted positions cannot be reduced to the confrontation between the doctrine of natural rights and the principle of social utility. Finally, we propose another explanation for the divergences of the Liberal School through different conceptions of the State.