Le problème contemporain de l’héritage : des temporalités en tension

The comeback of inheritance in the constitution of wealth since the last third of the twentieth century calls for a renewed normative reflection, which can be formulated as a tension between two distinct normative logics: a logic of transmission and a logic of redistribution. According to the first logic, which is based on the timespan of a single generation, it is fair to transmit one?s wealth freely to one?s children, by virtue of the specific nature of the familial bond. According to the second logic, which takes the long term into account, inheritance must be limited to fight against the reproduction and intensification of social inequalities. A significant part of the difficulties raised by the contemporary problem of inheritance lies in reconciling these two temporal perspectives.