6. On Inheritance:Abolish the Inheritance System to Achieve True Democracy

Those who reap without sowing are the cancer cells of society, and the inheritance system is the greatest source of these societal tumors. Behind seemingly direct causes of societal collapse—such as wealth disparity, class rigidity, social injustice, and rampant corruption—often lies the unearned wealth generated by inheritance. Achieving democracy necessitates abolishing the inheritance system; democracy and inheritance are inherently incompatible, with inheritance being democracy's mortal enemy.

The fact that nearly all democratic nations worldwide retain inheritance systems does not imply that such systems are compatible with democracy. Rather, it indicates these nations have merely entered the democratic track without achieving genuine democracy. One need only examine America's wealth disparity to recognize that even the world's most advanced democracy has not realized true democracy. A genuinely democratic society could never tolerate such extreme wealth inequality.

The fundamental reason humanity has yet to universally abolish hereditary succession lies in its perfect alignment with human self-interest. Everyone desires to pass on everything they possess—whether power or wealth—to their offspring. Hereditary succession is arguably the system most attuned to human self-interest, which is precisely why it remains widely supported to this day.

Precisely because inheritance is widely accepted, the ruling class can fully exploit this system to form interest groups, thereby consolidating their dominance. Take monarchies as an example: since the emperor's throne is hereditary, so too can the positions of officials be inherited. Only when both are inheritable can the emperor and officials form a shared interest community; otherwise, the emperor cannot secure the widespread support of officials.

Once such interest groups solidify, society experiences class rigidity. Those occupying the upper echelons remain confined to a specific group and its descendants, with individuals outside this circle having virtually no opportunity to ascend.

This class rigidity fuels the relentless expansion of social injustice. Interest groups exploit their advantages in power and wealth to perpetually extract unearned gains from other segments of society through various means, ultimately driving society toward collapse.

With the spread of democratic ideas, people now widely reject the inheritance of power, and few continue to accept the notion that authority can be passed down. Yet the inheritance of property remains a widely accepted practice.

The rejection of power inheritance stems from two primary reasons: First, those holding power constitute a minority in society, while the majority are powerless. Naturally, the powerless oppose the hereditary transfer of power. Second, those who inherit power invariably abuse it, their reckless actions constantly fueling public anger and discontent. Thus, the view that power cannot be inherited is widely accepted as correct.

Yet when told that property cannot be inherited, people instinctively resist. Dear reader, do you share this view?

After all, wealth seems accessible to everyone, and everyone desires to pass their assets to their children. Even if my wealth is meager, driven by human self-interest, I still wish to leave that small fortune to my offspring. This is why inheritance remains legally permitted across nations to this day.

In reality, compared to the wealthy, the estates of the poor are negligible. The inheritance system appears to protect everyone equally, yet in reality, it primarily benefits the wealthy while harming ordinary citizens. This is because the vast majority of the wealthy's assets are acquired through exploitation. Through inheritance, the wealthy pass this exploited wealth to their children, who then use their inherited wealth to continue exploiting others. This cycle repeats, creating wealthy families that endure for centuries—families that are, in essence, a cancer on society. It is precisely the existence of inheritance that legitimizes this perpetual cycle of exploitation across generations.

In a nation where 1% of the population holds 90% of societal wealth, what justification remains for the remaining 99% to uphold inheritance? Clearly, abolishing inheritance and redirecting all estates toward social welfare would most benefit ordinary citizens. Prohibiting inheritance would directly and significantly reduce other taxes borne by citizens.

Abolishing inheritance aims to curb unearned wealth. In a democratic society, every citizen—unless incapacitated by old age, infirmity, or disability—should acquire the vast majority of their wealth through labor, not inheritance.

Nations already on the path to democracy must take a further step: abolish inheritance to achieve true democracy. Any country retaining inheritance, even under the guise of democratic institutions, is fundamentally not a genuine democracy.