tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/inheritance-22724/articlesInheritance – The Conversation2023-12-21T21:54:53Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2199662023-12-21T21:54:53Z2023-12-21T21:54:53ZIt’s not just housing: the ‘bank of mum and dad’ is increasingly helping fund the lives of young Australians<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566790/original/file-20231220-15-irhy2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C8%2C5955%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/child-congratulations-graduates-business-man-house-713443921">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Much has been made of the increasing presence of the “bank of mum and dad” in the lives of Australians. </p>
<p>We know financial support from parents to adult children is increasingly used for entering the <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/395">housing market</a>. </p>
<p>But our new <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14407833231210956">research</a> shows parents are also helping their young adult children in other ways, including with meeting everyday expenses. We’ve gained new insights into who is receiving support from parents and what it’s used for.</p>
<p>So what does this look like in practice, and what does it mean for intergenerational inequality in Australia?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-housing-made-rich-australians-50-richer-leaving-renters-and-the-young-behind-and-how-to-fix-it-195189">How housing made rich Australians 50% richer, leaving renters and the young behind – and how to fix it</a>
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<h2>Parental financial support becoming commonplace</h2>
<p>We have surveyed a diverse group of young Australians for almost <a href="https://education.unimelb.edu.au/life-patterns">18 years</a>, since they were in year 12 in 2006. This has allowed us to follow the trajectory of a cohort of millennials as they have transitioned to adulthood. </p>
<p>One of the areas we ask about is their sources of financial support. This includes their own income, savings and investments, and government support, but also gifts, loans and other transfers from their family. </p>
<p>Our findings show that financial support from family – typically parents – has become important for this generation well into young adulthood. </p>
<p>This support from family was very common for our participants when they were in their late teens. Perhaps more surprisingly, for many this support continued into their 20s and, for a significant minority, into their late 20s and beyond. </p>
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<p>So is it only rich parents providing this assistance? Turns out, not really. Our results show young adults from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds get financial help. </p>
<p>Surprisingly, the educational level and occupation status of their parents did not predict whether our participants were receiving support. Parents with higher education and in managerial or professional careers are providing financial help. But so too are parents of more modest means, even if the amount of support they can provide clearly differs.</p>
<h2>It’s not just about houses</h2>
<p>Our participants are using this support to pay basic expenses. </p>
<p>One in five 32-year-olds in our study report struggling to pay for three or more basic expenses (we ask about food, rent or mortgage repayments, house bills and healthcare costs). These young adults are three times more likely than those not facing this struggle to report receiving financial support from their family. </p>
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<p>These gifts and loans are also used to support parenting, and to support those working part-time out of choice or necessity.</p>
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<p>Some of our participants working part-time in their late 20s and early 30s are not in such a precarious position. They are receiving parental support while they pursue graduate study in medicine or law, for example. </p>
<p>So while some are using support to meet day-to-day needs, we also see parents helping their children “get ahead”. </p>
<p>Financial support is also used to pursue extended education and manage a period of insecure and poorly paid employment on the way to more secure and well-paid careers in medicine, academia or journalism.</p>
<p>This intergenerational support has social ramifications that go beyond buying property. Our research suggests it also shapes education pathways, employment, parenting, and potentially general wellbeing. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-well-off-you-are-depends-on-who-you-are-comparing-the-lives-of-australias-millennials-gen-xers-and-baby-boomers-172064">How well off you are depends on who you are. Comparing the lives of Australia's Millennials, Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers</a>
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<h2>An outsized role for the bank of mum and dad</h2>
<p>Our results are an example of just how much life has changed in Australia. The growing challenges of cost of living and the effects of a booming housing market over many decades are changing the dynamics of inequality.</p>
<p>Most of the parents’ generation of the young people we have tracked are part of the Baby Boomer cohort. While there is substantial economic inequality within it, overall, this group benefited from the housing and other <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1600910X.2022.2058718">asset</a> booms over recent decades. </p>
<p>Many parents are using this foundation to help their children well beyond their teenage years. Of course, wealthy parents might find it easier to provide this support but are not the only parents providing it. For less wealthy parents, this might potentially change their plans for their own future and retirement. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-how-policies-favouring-rich-older-people-make-young-australians-generation-f-d-199403">Friday essay: how policies favouring rich, older people make young Australians Generation F-d</a>
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<p>Previous research has highlighted that the bank of mum and dad is becoming crucial for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2020.1754347">buying</a> a house and that this might exacerbate and entrench <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1600910X.2020.1752275">inequality</a> for future generations.</p>
<p>Our work suggests it goes beyond housing. Parents are helping combat financial insecurity for their young adult children across the board. Our data shows this widespread insecurity emerged before the current cost-of-living crisis, but current conditions are going to exacerbate it. </p>
<p>So we need to ask whether we want the bank of mum and dad to continue to play an ever-growing role in life chances in Australia. Based on our research, that change is already underway.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219966/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dan Woodman receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Cook receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Quentin Maire does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointments.</span></em></p>It’s now common knowledge loans and gifts from family are a large part of breaking into the housing market. But how is parental financial support being used in other areas?Dan Woodman, TR Ashworth Professor in Sociology, The University of MelbourneJulia Cook, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of NewcastleQuentin Maire, Senior Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2189742023-12-01T14:06:47Z2023-12-01T14:06:47ZWhy some people from the north of England end up leaving everything to King Charles when they die<p>What connects an ex-miner and lifelong republican, who once manned the protest lines at Orgreave, with King Charles III? The surprising answer, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/23/turn-in-his-grave-the-dead-whose-assets-went-to-king-charles-estate">the Guardian reported</a>, is that the ex-miner’s estate now forms part of a fund which generates private income for the monarch. </p>
<p>The reason is the legal principle of <em><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia">bona vacantia</a></em>. This is loosely translated as “ownerless goods” and refers to a process through which the estates of people who die without heirs in England and Wales are claimed by the crown. </p>
<p>The principle of <em>bona vacantia</em> operates when a person dies in England and Wales without leaving a valid will disposing of all of their assets and there is no heir to their estate under the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will">intestacy rules</a>. These rules, set out in the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/23/contents">Administration of Estates Act 1925</a>, set out the classes of people who can inherit the property of an intestate (or partially intestate) person. </p>
<p>These classes are ranked and then gone through in order to see if an heir can be found. In broad terms, no surviving relative further away from the deceased than a first cousin can inherit. Remoter family members are generally excluded. When no one closer than a cousin can be found, the unclaimed part of the estate (the <em>bona vacantia</em>) passes to, and is collected by, the crown. </p>
<p>Most of these estates are claimed by the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/people/susanna-mcgibbon">Treasury solicitor</a>, the government legal department which handles the administration of the estate and then passes the surplus to the government for its general expenditure. </p>
<p>However, the estates of people who died resident in the historic County Palatine of Lancaster (including greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire and the Furness area of Cumbria) pass under the <em>bona vacantia</em> rules to the Duke of Lancaster. That is, the current reigning monarch, King Charles. </p>
<p>The estates collected by the Duchy of Lancaster are incorporated into its private estate of land, property and assets, with the function of providing private income for the monarch. </p>
<p>This is an extremely ancient power, dating back to a 1377 grant made by Edward III to John of Gaunt when he was Duke of Lancaster. Today, it is part of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/23/contents">Administration of Estates Act 1925</a>. </p>
<p>A similar rule applies to the estates of those dying within the county of Cornwall. These estates pass to the Duke of Cornwall, who is also the Prince of Wales, Charles’s son, William.</p>
<p>Although many of these unclaimed estates are not large, the aggregate sums received by the duchies are considerable. The Guardian reports that over the past ten years, the Duchy of Lancaster alone <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/24/kings-estate-facing-questions-over-14m-in-bona-vacantia-not-donated-to-charity">has collected around £61.8 million</a>. </p>
<p>The Treasury solicitor and the two duchies will advertise for any entitled relatives to come forward, and will make transfers to those entitled under the heirship rules. All three also have a discretion to make payments from the estate to those who may have a legitimate claim on it otherwise than through heirship, particularly under the provisions of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63">Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975</a>. </p>
<p>These include carers for the deceased person, or cohabitants. Some of the remainder is used for investment and to maintain duchy assets, and the surplus given to charity. </p>
<h2>A controversial change apparently benefits King Charles</h2>
<p>Many people are broadly aware, and broadly satisfied, that if they die without heirs, their property will go to the state in the form of the crown. However, when the Law Commission last consulted on the principles of intestacy and <em>bona vacantia</em> in 2011, some public unease about the point was detected. </p>
<p>A significant minority thought that the rule was anachronistic and that unclaimed assets should be given <a href="https://lawcom.gov.uk/document/intestacy-and-family-provision-claims-on-death-report/">directly to charity</a>. The Law Commission did not take this up, in part because the latest available reports and accounts at that time showed that the net proceeds of <em>bona vacantia</em> in both duchies passed entirely to charity.</p>
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<img alt="A row of houses in a northern English village next to a bridge." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562968/original/file-20231201-25-gxjwhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Property in an area of the Duchy of Lancaster.</span>
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<p>The Guardian’s reporting has now revealed that there was an apparent significant shift in the administration of the Duchy of Lancaster’s funds in 2020. One particularly controversial change has been the alleged use of money to improve historic property within the Duchy’s portfolio, which is then rented out for profit. </p>
<p>The paper has also raised questions about how much of the duchy’s income is currently being paid to charitable causes, as this appears to have dropped. </p>
<p>There is the further question of whether it is fair, or relevant, that the estates of those who happen to die resident in Lancashire or Cornwall should become private assets of the monarch or his heir, while those who die resident elsewhere have their estates passed to the British state more generally. </p>
<p>Whatever the resolution of these issues may be, there is a clear message for those who strongly wish their estates to go to charity and not to the crown: make a will. </p>
<p>All wills can be drafted so that if there are no living heirs left, the estate can be given to a charity of the deceased’s choice as a fallback. Many charities offer will writing services which can help. When it comes to legacies, it’s essential to plan ahead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218974/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sheila Hamilton Macdonald does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Legal expert on the obscure law that makes King Charles and Prince Williams the heirs of people who die without wills or close relatives in Lancashire and Cornwall.Sheila Hamilton Macdonald, Senior Lecturer, specialising in Probate, Wills and Land, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2131002023-09-26T13:42:16Z2023-09-26T13:42:16ZThe family home in South African townships is contested – why occupation, inheritance and history are clashing with laws<p>During apartheid, black South Africans could not own land – and therefore their homes – in what were classified as “white” cities. In racially segregated townships, living in “family houses” and passing them on depended officially on a <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA02586568_844#page=5">range of permits</a>. These were usually to rent from state authorities, but in some cases confusingly to build or buy a house without owning the plot underneath it, which was owned by the state.</p>
<p>A crucial measure in undoing apartheid was transferring ownership of township houses to their long-term residents. <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA02586568_844#page=8">In 1986</a>, a few years before apartheid’s end, the law changed to enable outright ownership for black people in urban areas. Subsequently, processes for transfer on a large scale were established.</p>
<p>This massive redistribution of public housing stock, alongside legal change, involved hundreds of thousands of homes. Township houses were now assets. The promise was improved security, rights, and inclusion in the property market.</p>
<p>But change did not necessarily give families greater security. Some family members benefited while others were left vulnerable. That is because the transfers – and the legal definitions of property and inheritance – do not account for how many people understand their homes: collective and cross-generational, available to an extended lineage.</p>
<p>This has led to confusion and heartache for hundreds of thousands of people. That confusion, I showed <a href="https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article/120/479/219/6132108">in a paper in 2021</a>, extended to encounters with state administration, which can become the stage on which family disputes are played out.</p>
<p>As I argued in another <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02587203.2019.1632737">paper</a>, with Tshenolo Masha, these understandings of home and kinship warrant legal recognition – indeed, constitutional recognition – as urban custom. Various state officials have taken seriously the collective ownership of family houses, as a matter of customary norms and practice, through administration and court judgments. But they face the rigid limits of existing law.</p>
<p>The family house is central but effectively legally invisible, leaving many people uncertain about what it even means to own or inherit.</p>
<h2>Collective home but individual property</h2>
<p>For many residents, family houses belong collectively to multi-generational lineages. Often, a group of siblings is at the core – the children of an earlier, typically male, household head. Family members might build extra structures on the site to live in. Or they might come and go, but the home is a place to return to. The family house is defended as customary, drawing parallels with the rural homestead.</p>
<p>By the end of apartheid <a href="https://www.britannica.com/question/How-did-apartheid-end">in 1994</a>, regulation was patchy at best, but the occupancy permits were understood to affirm group entitlement because they listed family members, not just the householder.</p>
<p>In statutory law, at stake is an asset with one or more named owners – an indivisible plot or <a href="https://www.saflii.org/za/legis/consol_act/dra1937172/">“erf” of land</a> that includes its built structures. Owners can sell, or they can evict; other occupants have no legal right to stop them. When family houses were transferred, one person was generally registered as owner.</p>
<p>In some cases, the allocation to the registered householder was automatic. In others, there were hearings, but even here residents found their ideas of home and ownership marginalised. A family member would come forward as family “representative” and “custodian” of the collective home. But that representative would typically become the sole titleholder.</p>
<p>In many cases, relatives were unaware that this had happened, or even that an application for title had been made.</p>
<h2>Inheritance: an added layer of complexity</h2>
<p>Inheritance has added another layer to the problem.</p>
<p>Under apartheid there were separate inheritance rules for black people without wills. These were finally struck down by the Constitutional Court in <a href="https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2000/27.html">2000</a> and <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2004/17.html">2004</a>. Magistrates’ courts were replaced by the dedicated inheritance office, the <a href="https://www.justice.gov.za/master/">Master of the High Court</a>. Inheritance by the eldest son was replaced by rules for all South Africans, prioritising spouses and children in nuclear families.</p>
<p>Once again, essential redress had the effect of narrowing which relationships would be recognised. When a custodian died, wider family members first discovered that they were not collective owners; then they realised they would not even inherit.</p>
<p>The family house is not a static idea in fights over the home. Warring parties may draw on both customary and legal concepts, sometimes at the same time. Among families that approach the state – and many do not – some subsequently drop out of official process. </p>
<p>There is <a href="https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article/120/479/219/6132108">no simple consensus</a> about who gets what or about how this should be decided.</p>
<h2>Efforts to resolve the issue</h2>
<p>The family house is contested, yet it is key to arguments about what is fair – based not just on who owns, but on the nature of ownership.</p>
<p>State officials have repeatedly tried to make the system more responsive. In Gauteng province, where Johannesburg is located, housing tribunals were set up in the late 1990s to decide ownership and to broker family house rights agreements. They were intended to prevent custodians from selling houses or evicting relatives. But it turned out that they held no legal water: from the point of view of deeds registration, custodians’ <a href="https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article/120/479/219/6132108">ownership was unrestricted</a>. </p>
<p>In the Master’s Office, where inheritance is administered, kin complain that their family home somehow became the property of one relative. In Johannesburg, officials <a href="https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article/120/479/219/6132108">try to explain the law</a>, while where appropriate querying how title came to be acquired.</p>
<p>What they cannot do, though, is change the rules.</p>
<p>The courts, too, have highlighted problems with rigid law and procedure. In a 2004 Constitutional Court <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2004/17.html">decision on inheritance</a>, a dissenting judge warned that customary understandings of home and custodianship risked being sidelined by standardisation.</p>
<p>More recently in 2018, automatically upgrading householders to owners was <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2018/42.html">declared unconstitutional</a>.
Men were usually documented as householders under apartheid, and gender discrimination was extended by giving them exclusive property rights. </p>
<p>Other judgments recognise the spirit of collective belonging and access, and they stop individuals from taking the house out of the families’ hands by inheritance or sale. But they cannot make legislation, so they send the question of who owns the house back to a tribunal.</p>
<p>Once again, solutions are restricted to workarounds.</p>
<h2>Towards legal recognition</h2>
<p>In 2022, the <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/2022/441.html#_ftnref78">Shomang judgment</a> in the North Gauteng High Court called for legally recognising the family house. </p>
<p>A sufficiently flexible notion of family title would be challenging to work out, and doubtless the basis for countless disputes. Surviving spouses need as much protection as the siblings in a lineage. But it would enable administrators and judges to mediate disputes in terms recognisable to the families involved. And to offer more than ad hoc workarounds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213100/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maxim Bolt's research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK. </span></em></p>The transfer of township rental houses to inhabitants did not necessarily give families greater security. “Family houses” were frequently acquired by individuals.Maxim Bolt, Associate Professor of Development Studies, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2103432023-08-02T13:27:23Z2023-08-02T13:27:23ZSouth Africa’s new Marriage Bill raises many thorny issues - a balancing act is needed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539927/original/file-20230728-16043-9x88ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Brides attend a mass wedding ceremony at the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, south of Johannesburg.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ihsaan Haffejee/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa is changing its marriage law to recognise all types of intimate partnerships – irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, or religious, cultural and other beliefs. </p>
<p>The Department of Home Affairs has <a href="https://www.gov.za/speeches/department-home-affairs-invites-public-submit-written-comments-draft-marriage-bill-11-jul">invited public comment</a> on the <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/marriage-bill-draft-7-jul-2023-0000">Draft Marriage Bill 2022</a>. The bill amends some marriage laws, and prescribes what’s required for marriages to be considered valid, forms of registration, and the property consequences of marriage. As the <a href="https://static.pmg.org.za/48914_7-7_HomeAffairs-4-28.pdf#page=3">preamble</a> shows, it seeks to promote liberal values of equality, nondiscrimination, human dignity and freedom of thought. </p>
<p>While it is innovative for bringing all forms of intimate partnerships under one piece of legislation, the bill raises thorny questions. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/liberalism">Liberalism</a> – or openness to different behaviour, opinions or new ideas – is a strange beast. It pushes accepted conduct to its limits.</p>
<p>For instance, if the bill truly seeks equity, why does it not recognise intimate partnerships such as cohabitation? Why does <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202307/48914gon3648.pdf#page=20">section 22(6)</a> criminalise marriage between people who are related to each other by adoption or by blood (to certain degrees)?</p>
<p>I have <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JgVz0yUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">researched</a> these issues, notably as a member of the Advisory Committee on Matrimonial Property of the <a href="https://www.justice.gov.za/Salrc/ipapers/ip41-prj100E-MatrimonialPropertyLawReview-6Sep2021.pdf">South African Law Reform Commission</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/understanding-the-relevance-of-african-customary-law-in-modern-times-150762">Understanding the relevance of African customary law in modern times</a>
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<p>I believe that even though the bill promotes important constitutional values, it does not sufficiently reflect changing social and economic conditions. Specifically, it ignores polyandry – marriage of a woman to more than one man – and unmarried partnerships. This is significant because other laws recognise <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/a17-061.pdf">civil unions</a>, which include formalised marriage-like partnerships of same-sex couples.</p>
<h2>The thorny issues</h2>
<p>Firstly, radical socioeconomic changes require society to reevaluate traditional assumptions about accepted forms of relationships. Due to urbanisation and the interaction of different cultures, relationships such as cohabitation and polyandry are rising. A couple could live together for reasons such as exorbitant rent, distance to workplaces, and prohibitively high bridewealth (<em>ilobolo</em>). </p>
<p>The bill doesn’t recognise such intimate partnerships, which the Constitutional Court has accorded the same legal status as formal marriages. As the court has <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2021/51.html">acknowledged</a>, unmarried partnerships have serious implications for finances, human dignity, property ownership and child custody.</p>
<p>Secondly, the Marriage Bill <a href="https://static.pmg.org.za/48914_7-7_HomeAffairs-4-28.pdf#page=8">defines</a> <em>ilobolo</em> as</p>
<blockquote>
<p>property in cash or in kind … which a prospective husband or the head of his family undertakes to give to the head of the prospective wife’s family in consideration of a customary marriage.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This implies that only (traditionally male) family heads can receive it. The definition does not anticipate a role for women, as happens among the Galole Orma people of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2744433">northeastern Kenya</a>.</p>
<p>Also, the position of family head could be disputed where the mother is divorced and raised the bride alone. As far back as 1997, the Transvaal High Court <a href="https://www.bbrief.co.za/content/uploads/2019/11/Mabena-v-Letsoalo-1998.pdf">ruled</a> that the bride’s mother could negotiate and receive <em>ilobolo</em>. The bill should therefore redefine bridewealth as “money, property, or anything of value given by the groom or his family to the bride’s family in consideration of marriage and/or to symbolise a union between the groom and bride’s families”.</p>
<p>This definition is consistent with the decreasing role of the extended family in the education or raising of the bride. Uncles and aunts should not benefit from bridewealth if they did not assist in raising the bride. </p>
<p>Thirdly, the bill is silent on the coexistence of a civil law marriage with a customary or religious marriage. For reasons like legal certainty and communal respect, <a href="https://www.saflii.org/za/journals/SPECJU/2018/14.pdf">double marriage is common</a>. Previously, if a couple in a civil marriage subsequently concluded a customary or religious marriage, the state regarded the latter marriage as invalid. </p>
<p>The bill creates ambiguity because it does not stipulate the fate of a subsequent customary or religious marriage. This could affect inheritance, property and child custody because legal systems may govern these issues differently.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-courts-and-lawmakers-have-failed-the-ideal-of-cultural-diversity-91508">South Africa's courts and lawmakers have failed the ideal of cultural diversity</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Furthermore, the bill defines polygamous marriage as “a marriage in which a male spouse has more than one spouse at the same time”. This patriarchal definition does not promote equality. It implies that a woman should not marry more than one man. </p>
<p>Finally, the bill imposes an omnibus standard for divorce on all marriages. This standard may complicate divorce under Islamic and customary law, where the standard is relaxed. Also, <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202307/48914gon3648.pdf#page=19">section 21(1)</a> of the bill states that a marriage may be dissolved by the “continuous unconsciousness of one of the spouses,” without specifying how long a spouse must be unconscious following an injury, for example.</p>
<p>If the thorny issues in the bill are not addressed, the eventual legislation could be challenged as discriminatory. Its amendment would then drain the public purse. </p>
<h2>A balancing act</h2>
<p>Significantly, the bill emerged from the 2022 <a href="http://www.dha.gov.za/images/PDFs/White-Paper-on-Marriage-in-SA-5-May2022.pdf">White Paper on marriages and life partnerships</a>. The advisory committee that worked on the <a href="https://www.justice.gov.za/salrc/dpapers/dp152-prj144-SingleMarriageStatute-Jan2021.pdf">Single Marriage Statute (Project 144)</a> proposed two options for regulating life partnerships in its discussion paper.</p>
<p>These are a <a href="https://www.lssa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SALRC-discussion-paper-152-on-single-marriage-statute-plus-media-release.pdf">Protected Relationships Bill and a Recognition and Registration of Marriages and Life Partnerships Bill</a>. It appears Home Affairs did not add life partnerships to the bill because it is controversial. But legislative avoidance is unhelpful because it <a href="https://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1727-37812021000100048">postpones inevitable problems</a>. The Constitutional Court <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2021/51.html">recognises</a> the right of a woman in a life partnership to inherit or claim maintenance from her deceased partner’s estate. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lgbtq-rights-african-union-watchdog-goes-back-on-its-own-word-197555">LGBTQ+ rights: African Union watchdog goes back on its own word</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Ultimately, new forms of relationships demand legislative recognition. Law reform should be carefully handled to ensure that non-discriminatory cultural and religious practices <a href="https://repository.uwc.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10566/7355/Diala_law_2021.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">are respected</a>. The bill should strike a balance between preserving these practices, promoting liberal values, and recognising the evolving realities of contemporary relationships.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210343/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Diala receives funding from the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Number 136532). </span></em></p>The Marriage Bill should strike a balance between preserving non-discriminatory cultural and religious practices and promoting liberal values.Anthony Diala, Director, Centre for Legal Integration in Africa, University of the Western CapeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2096572023-07-13T12:38:47Z2023-07-13T12:38:47ZWhy a handwritten will found in Aretha Franklin’s couch got R‑E‑S‑P‑E‑C‑T from a jury<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537151/original/file-20230712-17-ho72pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C62%2C5203%2C2360&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A battle over the superstar's estate landed in court.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ARETHA%20FRANKLIN/d5d3b97af492463db45a54b970a82173?Query=aretha%20franklin&mediaType=text,photo,video,graphic,audio&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=1930&currentItemNo=648">Charles Sykes/Invision/AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>A <a href="https://apnews.com/article/aretha-franklin-will-dispute-d7aba286b05ea0d0e6318ce6abc887d5">handwritten will in a spiral notebook</a> found wedged between couch cushions months after Aretha Franklin’s 2018 death is valid, a jury in Pontiac, Michigan, has decided. The July 11, 2023, verdict ended a yearslong legal dispute among three of the soul singer’s four sons over which of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/05/21/725345750/three-wills-found-at-aretha-franklins-home">three informal wills</a> found in her home should take precedence over the others. As a result, the four-page document, drafted in 2014, will now guide how the singer’s multimillion-dollar estate and royalties will be distributed among her heirs.</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation asked <a href="https://law.rutgers.edu/directory/view/weisbord">Reid Kress Weisbord</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EsYOnywAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">David Horton</a>, two legal scholars who are experts on wills and trusts, to explain what the verdict means and how others can avoid this situation.</em></p>
<h2>Did the informality of these documents matter?</h2>
<p>No U.S. jurisdiction requires a will to be typewritten or professionally drafted by an attorney. Anything written down can <a href="https://www.findlaw.com/forms/resources/estate-planning/last-will-and-testament/what-is-a-valid-will.html">serve as a valid will</a> if the person who created it has sufficient mental capacity, wants the document to serve as a will and satisfies certain technical requirements for signing the document.</p>
<p>Most states do require that at least two witnesses observe the will being signed and then add their own signatures to the will as “<a href="https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/attesting+witness">attesting witnesses</a>.” But some states, including Michigan, do not require witness signatures if the <a href="https://www.annarborprobate.com/estate-planning/2022/12/02/is-a-holographic-will-valid-in-michigan/">will was written and signed</a> in the deceased person’s handwriting.</p>
<p>However, when a will is professionally drafted by an attorney and signed by neutral witnesses, the facts surrounding the will’s preparation and execution can be easier to prove in court – most likely reducing legal expenses for heirs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537172/original/file-20230712-35786-cpcueh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A finger points to a line of handwritten text." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537172/original/file-20230712-35786-cpcueh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537172/original/file-20230712-35786-cpcueh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537172/original/file-20230712-35786-cpcueh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537172/original/file-20230712-35786-cpcueh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537172/original/file-20230712-35786-cpcueh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537172/original/file-20230712-35786-cpcueh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537172/original/file-20230712-35786-cpcueh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This is one of Aretha Franklin’s handwritten wills that led to legal wrangling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ArethaFranklinWill/60e9c1d90f1a4784a183bf8ef9c85fbc/photo?boardId=37be9465fcce45d283d5431cccb20a6a&st=boards&mediaType=audio,photo,video,graphic&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=385&currentItemNo=5">AP Photo/Mike Householder</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What matters when there are competing versions of wills?</h2>
<p>Every will contest turns on its own unique facts.</p>
<p>The dispute in Franklin’s estate focused on whether a handwritten document from 2014 was properly signed and, if so, whether she intended for that document to operate as her will.</p>
<p>That document was the most recent of all of Franklin’s potential wills, which <a href="https://executor.org/blog/will-legal-valid/">usually would be the determining factor</a>. But it lacked a traditional complete signature. Instead, there was a smiley face drawn immediately before “Franklin.”</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://casetext.com/case/in-re-estate-of-briggs">long-standing law</a>, any mark intended as a signature is sufficient to validate a will. </p>
<h2>Is this unusual for someone rich and famous?</h2>
<p>About <a href="https://theconversation.com/68-of-americans-do-not-have-a-will-137686">2 in 3 Americans</a> have not formally spelled out in a will what should happen with their estates following their deaths. Those most likely to have wills tend to be over 65 years old, well educated and wealthy.</p>
<p>While it’s somewhat uncommon for someone as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66158755">rich and famous as Franklin</a> to die without a will, it does happen occasionally. Other good examples include civil rights leader <a href="https://www.learnedlawyeridaho.com/leaving-a-legacy-of-conflict-celebrities-who-died-without-wills-martin-luther-king-jr/">Martin Luther King Jr.</a>, artist <a href="https://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/when-pablo-picasso-died-he-left-behind-billions-of-dollars-worth-of-art-yet-he-left-no-will/">Pablo Picasso</a> and business magnate <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704416904575502292011174892">Howard Hughes</a>. </p>
<p>Legal wrangling over singer-songwriter <a href="https://www.billboard.com/pro/prince-estate-court-battle-ends-six-years/">Prince’s huge estate</a> took six years to resolve because he didn’t leave a will behind and the musician had no children or spouse when he died in 2016.</p>
<h2>Does this court case set any precedents?</h2>
<p>No. The verdict came from a probate court jury. Because the case was not decided with a ruling from an appellate or another higher court, it <a href="https://www.upcounsel.com/legal-def-precedent">doesn’t set a legal precedent</a>. </p>
<h2>How much can these legal battles cost heirs?</h2>
<p>The attorneys fees in litigation over wills can be hefty. When we studied 443 probate cases from San Francisco between 2014 and 2016, we found that disputes like the one in Franklin’s estate incurred an average of <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3805381">about US$17,000 in additional attorneys fees</a>. Cases like Franklin’s, which took several years to resolve, usually cost much more.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209657/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Informal documents can be valid. But when that’s all a rich person leaves behind, the legal costs can get pretty steep.Reid Kress Weisbord, Professor of Law and Judge Norma Shapiro Scholar, Rutgers University - NewarkDavid Horton, Professor of Law, University of California, DavisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1997562023-03-21T12:43:31Z2023-03-21T12:43:31ZIn a Roman villa at the center of a nasty inheritance dispute, a Caravaggio masterpiece is hidden from the public<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515929/original/file-20230316-466-6e6j4m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=68%2C61%2C4475%2C3044&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Villa Aurora in Rome, which houses works by Caravaggio and Guercino, is up for sale. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-photograph-taken-on-january-21-shows-the-casino-news-photo/1237878844?phrase=villa aurora rome&adppopup=true">Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://umass.academia.edu/MonikaSchmitter">I teach Italian Renaissance and Baroque art</a>, so when I was visiting Rome in January 2023, how could I not try to see a notorious villa that was up for sale and involved in a nasty inheritance dispute? </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.minorsights.com/2016/08/italy-villa-aurora-ludovisi.html">Villa Aurora</a>, named for the masterful fresco by <a href="https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1364.html">the 17th-century artist Guercino</a> that adorns the ground-floor salon, also happens to house a rare ceiling painting by <a href="https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio">Caravaggio</a>, the 17th-century “rebel artist,” whose name makes the art market salivate. </p>
<p>I wanted to see the Caravaggio, and not just because its <a href="https://www.aboutartonline.com/la-vendita-di-villa-ludovisi-dubbi-sulla-metodologia-applicata-per-la-stima-i-precedenti-e-il-caso-degli-affreschi-di-tiepolo-a-palazzo-barbarigo/">assessed value of US$331 million</a> drove up the estimated price for the villa, apparently scaring off buyers. </p>
<p>Perhaps because of the difficulty in reproducing the work or even viewing it, the Caravaggio has received remarkably little attention from art historians. The villa, which has gone through <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/14/us-born-princess-vows-to-stay-in-rome-villa-despite-eviction-order-caravaggio-ceiling-fresco">five failed auctions</a> – the first one asking a cool $502 million – needs maintenance, and Italian law dictates that the Caravaggio and other art cannot be removed.</p>
<p>It is not easy to see privately held art, and given the ongoing controversy, I figured my chances were especially slim. But I duly wrote to the email address I found online. </p>
<p>A week later I got a response, and after some back and forth, on the day before I was to leave Rome, I was invited to come to the villa at 6 p.m. sharp. </p>
<p>A woman named Olga met me at the door: “The principessa will be with you in a moment,” she said.</p>
<h2>More than one masterpiece</h2>
<p>The current inhabitant of the villa is an American-born princess named <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/11/28/the-renovation-rita-jenrette-princess-italy">Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi</a>. </p>
<p>A former Texas GOP opposition researcher, she was once married to a congressman caught in <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/abscam">the Abscam scandal</a> and posed for Playboy twice in the 1980s. Her second husband, <a href="https://villaludovisi.org/2018/03/25/in-memoriam-hsh-prince-nicolo-boncompagni-ludovisi-rome-21-january-1941-rome-8-march-2018/">Nicolò Boncampagni</a> Ludovisi, was Prince of Piombino. He owned the villa and promised her <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/usufruct">usufructuary rights</a>, meaning she should be allowed to occupy the villa until her death. </p>
<p>But the prince’s three sons from his first marriage are forcing the sale because, <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/01/18/when-is-a-caravaggio-worth-zero-when-its-on-a-ceiling-and-you-may-not-remove-it-for-sale">according to Italian law</a>, inheritances must be divided between the surviving spouse and any descendants.</p>
<p>It’s a media story to die for: old-world aristocrats face off against a supposed bimbo and gold digger from Texas – with a Caravaggio thrown in for good measure. </p>
<p>The villa was historically known as the Casino Ludovisi, but it became famous among art historians for its ceiling painting by <a href="https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1364.html">Guercino</a>.</p>
<p>In a tour de force of illusion, the ceiling is painted to look as through the architecture opens up to the sky with the goddess <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eos-Greek-and-Roman-mythology">Aurora</a>, or Dawn, driving her chariot across the space above.</p>
<p>The Caravaggio, by contrast, barely registers in the voluminous scholarship on the artist. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516078/original/file-20230317-2393-ue4l9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Image of a ceiling fresco." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516078/original/file-20230317-2393-ue4l9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516078/original/file-20230317-2393-ue4l9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516078/original/file-20230317-2393-ue4l9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516078/original/file-20230317-2393-ue4l9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516078/original/file-20230317-2393-ue4l9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516078/original/file-20230317-2393-ue4l9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516078/original/file-20230317-2393-ue4l9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Guercino’s ‘Aurora on Her Triumphal Chariot’ at Villa Aurora.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-photograph-taken-on-january-21-shows-the-ceiling-news-photo/1237880015?adppopup=true">Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Meeting the principessa</h2>
<p>I looked down in dismay at my sneakers, my corduroy pants, and my purple Eddie Bauer jacket that has seen better days: I hadn’t anticipated meeting the principessa herself. </p>
<p>Olga guided me into a second room and introduced me to the principessa. She is most definitely American – tall, blond and looking much younger than her age of 73. </p>
<p>After talking extensively about the villa and its works of art, Rita, as she calls herself, introduced me to a dapper Italian man from the Ministry of Culture, whom, she explained, could hopefully stop <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/01/14/princess-rita-jenrette-faces-eviction-from-rome-villa/">her imminent eviction</a> from her home. She then showed me the magnificent painting by Guercino.</p>
<p>Then a journalist from the Italian newspaper La Stampa appeared, and the principessa was whisked away for an interview. She told me, in parting, “Olga will show you the Caravaggio.”</p>
<h2>Encountering the Caravaggio</h2>
<p>Olga led me up a spiral stairway to the second floor: “Here is the other Guercino,” she said. I looked up to see <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guercino_-_Ceiling_painting,_Casino_dell%27Aurora,_11aurora.jpg">a second illusionistic fresco</a>, the same size as the one on the ground floor, this one depicting the figure of Fame flying through the sky.</p>
<p>I hadn’t known this one even existed.</p>
<p>Then Olga turned on the lights in what looked like a small hallway, its walls painted a bright, hospital white. I looked up to see Caravaggio’s painting, which depicts muscular nude men surrounding a translucent white globe.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515928/original/file-20230316-1658-fy5fg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Ceiling painting of muscular men and mythological creatures surrounding an orb." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515928/original/file-20230316-1658-fy5fg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515928/original/file-20230316-1658-fy5fg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515928/original/file-20230316-1658-fy5fg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515928/original/file-20230316-1658-fy5fg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515928/original/file-20230316-1658-fy5fg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515928/original/file-20230316-1658-fy5fg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515928/original/file-20230316-1658-fy5fg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Since it’s located in a private residence, Caravaggio’s painting at the Villa Aurora has been difficult for the public to view.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-photograph-taken-on-january-21-shows-jupiter-neptune-news-photo/1237878868?phrase=villa%20aurora%20rome&adppopup=true">Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The detail is intense, the colors bright and sharp in a way that is exceptional for a ceiling painting. </p>
<p>Caravaggio managed to make the three-headed dog <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cerberus">Cerberus</a> look as though it really existed – bringing to life the creature’s soft black and white fur, the red of its eyes, the pink ribbing of one upper mouth and the white glint of its teeth. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515916/original/file-20230316-19-qc1ez4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Painting detail of a three-headed dog." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515916/original/file-20230316-19-qc1ez4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515916/original/file-20230316-19-qc1ez4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515916/original/file-20230316-19-qc1ez4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515916/original/file-20230316-19-qc1ez4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515916/original/file-20230316-19-qc1ez4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515916/original/file-20230316-19-qc1ez4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515916/original/file-20230316-19-qc1ez4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A detail from Caravaggio’s ceiling painting depicts Cerberus, a mythical three-headed dog.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/italy-lazio-rome-villa-boncompagni-ludovisi-detail-three-news-photo/132705020?phrase=caravaggio%20villa%20ludovisi&adppopup=true">Mondadori Portfolio/Hulton Fine Art Collection via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I later learned that the picture had not been painted <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/fresco-painting">in the traditional fresco technique</a>, on wet plaster, but with the unusual application of oil on dry plaster, allowing Caravaggio to execute the precision, color, detail and texture.</p>
<p>Although some art historians have <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=HXc2MNp7ffIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ViewAPI#v=onepage&q&f=false">questioned the attribution</a>, there is no doubt in my mind that this is Caravaggio. Only he would – even could – paint such a seemingly plausible Cerberus. </p>
<p>The composition works only in its original location, since the scale, height and curvature of the ceiling transform the work. The painting purports to show a rectangular opening in the ceiling through which viewers can see the sky and clouds. In the center, within a white globe depicting the universe, one sees the Sun, Moon and signs of the horoscope. </p>
<p>On each side of the globe are the nude, burly, he-men: on one side, Jupiter, awkwardly flying through the sky on an eagle, pushes the sphere; on the other, Jupiter’s brothers, Pluto and Neptune, stand as if at the edge of the opening in the ceiling, looking down.</p>
<h2>Suffused with impish subtext</h2>
<p>Given its lack of scholarly attention, the Caravaggio is much more compelling than I expected. </p>
<p>One 17th-century biographer, <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095457632;jsessionid=F7F4BCEDD2540BB7CF63AFD4296936AA">Pietro Bellori</a>, claimed that Caravaggio <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Giovan_Pietro_Bellori_The_Lives_of_the_M/Lm9gs8mXwOUC?hl=en">painted the work to silence critics</a> who alleged that he lacked the technical skill to pull off the tricks in perspective required for ceiling art.</p>
<p>But I think Caravaggio was up to something more complicated. His aim was not so much to prove he could paint with foreshortened figures and receding architecture, but rather to make fun of the fad for illusionistic ceiling paintings that render scenes “as if seen from below” – “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/sotto-in-su">di sotto in su</a>,” as it is termed in art history.</p>
<p>Running with the concept of “di sotto in su,” Caravaggio cheekily gives onlookers a graphic view from below Pluto’s penis and testicles, not to mention a novel perspective on his buttocks. </p>
<p>Caravaggio didn’t stop there. </p>
<p>Jupiter’s pose is almost incomprehensible, his face concealed, his limbs flailing in different directions – very undignified, particularly for an oversize Olympian god. It’s an NFL linebacker riding an overmatched eagle.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515918/original/file-20230316-386-o65sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Muscular man riding an eagle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515918/original/file-20230316-386-o65sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515918/original/file-20230316-386-o65sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515918/original/file-20230316-386-o65sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515918/original/file-20230316-386-o65sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515918/original/file-20230316-386-o65sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515918/original/file-20230316-386-o65sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515918/original/file-20230316-386-o65sgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jupiter riding an eagle in a detail of Caravaggio’s painting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/italy-lazio-rome-villa-boncompagni-ludovisi-whole-artwork-news-photo/132705019?phrase=caravaggio%20villa%20ludovisi&adppopup=true">Mondadori Portfolio/Hudson Fine Art Collection via Getty Images.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From between Jupiter’s legs emerges the very phallic long neck and beak of the eagle with his bright, dark eye glaring down at the mortals below. (In Italian, “bird” <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/italian-english/uccello">is slang for penis</a>.) </p>
<p>Pluto and Neptune also have their pets, which are themselves rivals: Pluto’s snarling dog frightens Neptune’s seahorse. Neptune, who is Caravaggio’s self-portrait, in turn looks threateningly at Pluto. And then there is the juxtaposition of Cerberus’ bared teeth and Pluto’s very exposed “equipment.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516080/original/file-20230317-20-skboj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two muscular nude men, a horse and a three-headed dog." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516080/original/file-20230317-20-skboj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516080/original/file-20230317-20-skboj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516080/original/file-20230317-20-skboj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516080/original/file-20230317-20-skboj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516080/original/file-20230317-20-skboj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516080/original/file-20230317-20-skboj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516080/original/file-20230317-20-skboj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A detail of Pluto and Neptune in Caravaggio’s painting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-photograph-taken-on-january-21-shows-jupiter-neptune-news-photo/1237879028?adppopup=true">Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When I consider the patronage of the painting, it all makes sense. </p>
<p>Caravaggio painted the ceiling in 1599 or 1600 when the villa was owned by his first important patron, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Caravaggio/The-patronage-of-Cardinal-del-Monte">Cardinal Francesco del Monte</a>.</p>
<p>Caravaggio lived in del Monte’s palace in town, and there is evidence to suggest that <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/b/bersani-caravaggio.html">they both enjoyed the company of young men</a>, and they <a href="http://www.glbtqarchive.com/arts/caravaggio_A.pdf">may even have been lovers</a>.</p>
<p>While it is difficult to confirm the men’s sexual preferences, there is no question that the ceiling is a product of their shared sensibility: locker room art for sophisticated, 17th-century cultural “jocks.”</p>
<p>The room was Del Monte’s “<a href="http://www.italianrenaissanceresources.com/units/unit-4/essays/a-room-of-ones-own-the-studiolo/">studiolo</a>,” a type of small room usually used by members of the wealthy elite to get away from it all and “study” (whatever that might entail). </p>
<p>The ceiling was to be shared by a bon vivant, learned cardinal with a select audience of like-minded men. Caravaggio never painted another ceiling because tricks of perspective were fundamentally incompatible with <a href="https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/0-271-02717-7.html">his realist inclinations</a>, but perhaps he did this one for his friend and patron as a kind of joke.</p>
<h2>Now what?</h2>
<p>I left the Villa Aurora that night with a new perspective on 17th-century art and full of thoughts about the role these works of art, created for members of an extraordinarily privileged elite of the past, play in our modern democratic society. </p>
<p>The same day as my visit, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/14/us-born-princess-vows-to-stay-in-rome-villa-despite-eviction-order-caravaggio-ceiling-fresco">the judge in the inheritance dispute ruled</a> that the principessa would be evicted from the villa to facilitate its sale. I suspect this is devastating for her, given how much effort she has put into <a href="https://villaludovisi.org/">preserving her husband’s legacy</a>.</p>
<p>But I also wonder what will happen to this villa and its unique collection of 16th- and 17th-century ceiling paintings. </p>
<p>I think it would be a travesty for them to remain in private hands, because everyone, including my students, should be able to see these works. Art historians know about the tensions between private property and cultural heritage, but this is a real opportunity for the new Italian Minister of Culture, <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/gennaro-sangiuliano-italy-culture-minister-2200501">Gennaro Sangiuliano</a>, to set an example, as his predecessors have done with the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/arts/venice-grimani-collection-sculpture.html">Palazzo Grimani at Santa Formosa in Venice</a>.</p>
<p>Once the residence of a wealthy and powerful noble family, Palazzo Grimani fell into disrepair until it was purchased in 1981 by the state. After many years of renovation, it opened as a public museum in 2008. </p>
<p>The frescoes in the Palazzo Grimani are not nearly as artistically significant as those in the Villa Aurora, but the museum today is one of the most interesting monuments in Venice.</p>
<p>I believe the Villa Aurora, restored and open to everyone as a museum of Renaissance and Baroque ceiling painting, could do the same for Rome.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199756/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monika Schmitter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What will happen to this villa and its unique collection of 16th- and 17th-century ceiling paintings?Monika Schmitter, Professor and Chair of History of Art and Architecture, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1974242023-02-01T19:10:49Z2023-02-01T19:10:49ZKath O'Connor was writing a novel about her grandmother’s ovarian cancer when she was diagnosed, too. She died before it was published<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505811/original/file-20230123-14-x2323w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C8%2C5973%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ivan Samkov/Pexels</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The concept of death has preoccupied people for probably as long as people have existed. Nonetheless, we are are practised at avoiding, forgetting or suppressing the inevitability of our own death. We write about death in philosophy and medicine and sociology, and in fiction too. But typically, these writings locate death “out there”, as an event or a case. </p>
<p>It is rarer for literature to focus on a person who is confronting their own death. <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-george-eliot-200-years-on-a-scandalous-life-a-brilliant-mind-and-a-huge-literary-legacy-127438">George Eliot</a>’s Middlemarch provides one famous example of this approach. Casaubon, on receiving his hopeless prognosis, <a href="http://www.literaturepage.com/read/middlemarch-436.html">becomes aware</a> of the heartwrenching difference between “we must all die”, and “I must die – and soon”. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Review: Inheritance – Kath O'Connor (Affirm Press)</em></p>
<hr>
<p>In recent years, several Australian novels have explored this topic. I think here of Debra Adelaide’s 2008 novel <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/the-household-guide-to-dying-20080614-gdshui.html">The Household Guide to Dying</a>, in which the narrator spends her own terminal cancer writing a “guide” to the long, complicated process of becoming dead. </p>
<p>I think too of Georgia Blain’s 2016 novel <a href="https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/review/between-a-wolf-and-a-dog-georgia-blain/">Between a Wolf and a Dog</a>, which similarly traces what Hilary, the central character, does to wrap up her life after being diagnosed with aggressive cancer. (Cruelly, Blain was herself diagnosed with the cancer that would kill her just as she was working on the edits of the manuscript.) </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/goodbye-georgia-blain-a-brave-and-true-chronicler-of-life-70329">Goodbye Georgia Blain: a brave and true chronicler of life</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Fiction, but close to memoir</h2>
<p>Now we have Kath O’Connor’s debut novel, Inheritance, a work of fiction that is very close to being memoir. O’Connor’s grandmother, we learn in the opening notes, carried the <a href="https://theconversation.com/angelina-jolie-has-had-a-double-mastectomy-so-what-is-brca1-14227">BRCA1</a> gene mutation, which caused her death from ovarian cancer. O’Connor, who carried the same mutation, was diagnosed with the same disease, and wrote this novel during her treatment. </p>
<p>Tragically, she died shortly before completing the work, leaving it to her partner, her writing mentor Inga Simpson, and family members to bring it to publication.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505812/original/file-20230123-20-nrew7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505812/original/file-20230123-20-nrew7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505812/original/file-20230123-20-nrew7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505812/original/file-20230123-20-nrew7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505812/original/file-20230123-20-nrew7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505812/original/file-20230123-20-nrew7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505812/original/file-20230123-20-nrew7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505812/original/file-20230123-20-nrew7g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kath O'Connor died shortly before completing this book – her writing mentor, Inga Simpson, helped bring it to publication.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Affirm Press</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The novel works across two stories, and two voices. The first is that of Rose, a contemporary woman living in Melbourne with her partner Salima. In her professional life she is an oncologist, who works to heal cancer patients, or help them to die. In her private life she is rather resentfully caring for her difficult drunken father, Eddie, and more optimistically contemplating IVF so she and Salima can start a family. </p>
<p>But in the very first chapter, Rose gets a call from the fertility specialist to confirm that her BRCA test was positive. That is to say, without a total hysterectomy and a bilateral mastectomy, she is at risk of dying early. </p>
<p>The other voice and story belong to Rose’s grandmother, Nellie. The second chapter, in which Nellie’s narrative begins, is a portrait of rural life: of rhubarb chutney, of chickens and fresh-laid eggs, of a determination to be satisfied in her unsatisfactory marriage to a taciturn husband. </p>
<p>Nellie lives in 1945 regional Victoria with John and their two little sons. After a youth of political activism, higher education and making plans for a career, she now busies herself with the daily tasks of cooking and cleaning and managing her family. And she does not know that she carries what Rose calls the BCRA “sleeping time-bomb”, or that she already has the beginnings of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/ovarian-cancer-is-not-a-silent-killer-recognizing-its-symptoms-could-help-reduce-misdiagnosis-and-late-detection-181415">ovarian cancer</a> that will kill her.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/angelina-jolie-has-had-a-double-mastectomy-so-what-is-brca1-14227">Angelina Jolie has had a double mastectomy, so what is BRCA1?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Cancer in the 1940s, and 2016</h2>
<p>This opening links the two women, and simultaneously, in its shifting voice, setting and points of view, teases out the difference that some 80 years can make to a life, its prospects and opportunities. Nellie, for instance, speaks to us directly, while Rose comes to us only through the third person. Nellie is self-deprecating and diffident, while Rose is – at least in her professional self – all cool medical precision. </p>
<p>Nellie is an object of the system: not trusted to make her own decisions; subjected to the horrors of 1940s cancer treatment; separated from her beloved little sons, on the basis this is no place for children. Rose, by contrast, is directly informed about her genetic inheritance, and trusted to make her own decision about treatment. And yes, 2016 cancer treatment is still brutal, but Rose’s patients are more likely to be treated as individuals, to be honestly informed about their situation, to be given the presumption of agency.</p>
<p>I am usually very reluctant to draw a connection between an author and their characters, but given O’Connor’s history as a GP, it’s easy to hear in the narrator’s reflections the professional training the author brings to the story. It’s also easy to see the shift from the scientific gaze to that of the sometimes frightened, sometimes fractious human being. </p>
<p>Plenty of passages show the confident articulation of the medical professional. But plenty of passages, too, show the anxious, generous, resentful, loving, complex mix of qualities that make up most individuals – that make up Rose, and Nellie, and the other characters, and indeed the whole social realm.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/brace-yourself-genetic-testing-might-give-you-more-than-you-bargained-for-40246">Brace yourself, genetic testing might give you more than you bargained for</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Inheriting a social conscience</h2>
<p>I’ve read this as a novel about death and dying; but it is equally a novel about society, and social justice – and this is another inheritance Nellie passes on to her descendants. Nellie’s dearest childhood friend Ruth is a political activist, and was a dedicated Communist until disillusioned by the Party’s refusal to “put women’s rights on the agenda”. </p>
<p>Nellie too briefly joined the Party, but discovered the consolations of being ordinary and withdrew to a quieter life. Ruth, though, retained a powerful voice for women’s rights and human rights, and this becomes the germ of the social conscience possessed by Nellie’s descendants.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505813/original/file-20230123-15-d38zp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505813/original/file-20230123-15-d38zp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505813/original/file-20230123-15-d38zp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505813/original/file-20230123-15-d38zp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505813/original/file-20230123-15-d38zp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505813/original/file-20230123-15-d38zp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505813/original/file-20230123-15-d38zp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505813/original/file-20230123-15-d38zp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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</figure>
<p>During Nellie’s illness, Ruth took up a role in the family. She visited Nellie, read her stories and poems, fed her small treats, played with the boys, and most importantly, saw her as herself, Nellie, and not as a dying patient. </p>
<p>Her involvement with the boys influenced Eddie – Nellie’s younger son, Rose’s father – to take up the cudgels of social change. He became a human rights lawyer specialising in refugee cases, and however distressing he might be as a retired drunk, he still maintains the energy to support refugees in the community. And Rose, too, inherited a sense of social justice – enough to feel guilty that she elected to work in the private rather than the public health sector. </p>
<p>Rose justifies her choice on the basis that “suffering from cancer is essentially no different in the world of the privileged”. But then she reflects on her own risk of cancer, on how illness “overrides everything else”, how it will reduce her to sickness, pain, to being just “the mastectomy in Bed Four”. </p>
<p>Though <a href="https://theconversation.com/triggering-cancer-cells-to-become-normal-cells-how-stem-cell-therapies-can-provide-new-ways-to-stop-tumors-from-spreading-or-growing-back-191559">cancer treatment</a> is radically different now from 1945, still – as Rose notes – it reduces patients to categories: “newbies” identifiable by their “full heads of hair and terrified faces”; “seasoned members” who seem bored by or resigned to their treatment; the “sicker ones in wheelchairs”. </p>
<p>But she also knows her patients as individuals; knows their lives and fears as well as their diseases. She is willing to sit with them and listen to them; to offer, where she can, some comfort. She can ease their pain. She can ease them into death when it comes. </p>
<p>I read this novel aware that its author has herself gone into death; that she wrote this while going through treatment and facing this new, and final, stage of life. The tenderness, the professionalism, and the careful eye on what it is to be a person in relation to other people is, at least for me, immensely moving. </p>
<p>It’s a dense novel, written with close attention to detail and clear-eyed understanding of the complexities of life, of living and of dying. In this, it is an exemplar for how fiction can travel alongside other specialist languages – here, the language of medicine – to illuminate things that matter, and to normalise things we dread.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197424/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jen Webb has received funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Kath O'Connor’s debut novel, Inheritance, follows two women – an IVF hopeful and her grandmother – who carry the BRCA1 gene and contract ovarian cancer. It’s very close to being memoir.Jen Webb, Dean, Graduate Research, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1956812022-12-23T12:55:37Z2022-12-23T12:55:37ZHow Monopoly informs academia and economics, even when it’s not obvious<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502545/original/file-20221222-24-crvxot.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C0%2C1465%2C740&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Designed by Elizabeth Magie in the early 20th century, _The Landlord Game_ would go on to inspire _Monopoly_.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Landlords_Game_1906_image_courtesy_of_T_Forsyth_owner_of_the_registered_trademark_20151119.jpg">Creative Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the top hat’s turn to roll, the dice land on ‘Chance’ and it’s a one-way ticket to Mayfair. Aged just ten years old, I won my first game of <em>Monopoly</em>, but I strangely didn’t feel a sense of joy. I was rich, very rich indeed. But I was the sole proprietor of the houses, hotels and lots left behind by a fictional society of which I was the last remaining survivor.</p>
<p>Perhaps even back then, I suspected that the true lesson of <em>Monopoly</em> was that capitalism (in its most radical form) would lead most of us either to solitude, if we were lucky, or to bankruptcy, if we weren’t.</p>
<p>And this is exactly what the game’s creator was trying to tell us all along.</p>
<h2>The birth of Georgism</h2>
<p>At its inception, in 1903, the initial version of the game of <em>Monopoly</em>, which was then called <a href="https://landlordsgame.info/"><em>The Landlord’s Game</em></a>, was intended as a warning against the ills of capitalism. Just like in the modern version, players would play until the last card was drawn and the last hotel was placed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442555/original/file-20220125-21-sqtdpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442555/original/file-20220125-21-sqtdpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=895&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442555/original/file-20220125-21-sqtdpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=895&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442555/original/file-20220125-21-sqtdpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=895&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442555/original/file-20220125-21-sqtdpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1125&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442555/original/file-20220125-21-sqtdpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1125&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442555/original/file-20220125-21-sqtdpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1125&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">First patented board for <em>The Landlord’s Game</em>, 1904.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Magie#/media/Fichier:BoardGamePatentMagie.png">US National Archives./Wikimedia</a></span>
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<p>Unlike its current format, however, the original allowed two jaded and frustrated players to team up against this brutal social experiment. They could revolutionise the game-play by setting alternative rules such as nationalising the bank, converting the jail into a school or giving all stations free state access to water and electricity. But don’t be fooled; this was in no way a proletarian revolution, as all players remained the individual proprietors of their hotels, houses and assets in a sort of balance between state-run and private property.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442549/original/file-20220125-21-ljw4hs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442549/original/file-20220125-21-ljw4hs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442549/original/file-20220125-21-ljw4hs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442549/original/file-20220125-21-ljw4hs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442549/original/file-20220125-21-ljw4hs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442549/original/file-20220125-21-ljw4hs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442549/original/file-20220125-21-ljw4hs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Georgist postcard, date unknown.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgisme#/media/Fichier:Everybody_works_but_the_vacant_lot_(cropped).jpg">New York Public library/Wikimedia</a></span>
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<p>Although now largely unknown, this utopian model was once popular in the United States <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgism">under the name of Georgism</a>. The movement advocated a world where individual success and the American dream could be achieved as tangible, real concepts, while countervailing state power would prevent the emergence of large monopolies and help redistribute wealth. Georgism supported the idea of a single tax on land, minerals and inheritances, which would allow us all to reap the fruits of our labour and do away with unearned income. This brings us neatly to our household game, which strove to show how monopolies would generate misery and poverty, whereas opposing models of economic management would ensure well-being and prosperity for all. In the Georgist world, winning the game meant getting rich without causing others to go bust.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442552/original/file-20220125-17-cozo88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442552/original/file-20220125-17-cozo88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442552/original/file-20220125-17-cozo88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442552/original/file-20220125-17-cozo88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442552/original/file-20220125-17-cozo88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442552/original/file-20220125-17-cozo88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1069&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442552/original/file-20220125-17-cozo88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1069&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442552/original/file-20220125-17-cozo88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1069&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Henry George, whose writings and advocacy formed the basis for Georgism.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgisme#/media/Fichier:Henry_George.png">Wikimedia</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Elizabeth Magie: social justice pioneer</h2>
<p><em>The Landlord’s Game</em> was the brainchild of the much-unsung Georgist activist and feminist Elizabeth Magie, whose story is chronicled in <em>The Monopolists</em> by American journalist and author <a href="https://www.marypilon.com/monopoly">Mary Pilon</a>. The book tells how Magie was never able to enjoy the rewards of her ingenious creation and how her name was lost to the annals for decades. Although Magie’s game did not sell well and was poorly promoted, it was met with avid acclaim from those who shared her Georgist ideals. As the game spread along the East Coast, activists and fans copied the model and passed on the rules by word of mouth, playing in university dorms, parks, smoking rooms and even in the lecture hall. Magie’s game bore many names on its journey to becoming the now-familiar <em>Monopoly</em>.</p>
<p>This game made tangible comparisons between capitalism and Georgism, using the material forms of wealth, banknotes and assets. We can only guess at how many young minds of Princeton and Columbia might have experienced this new rhetoric of numerals, but we know for sure that one of them was Harold Hotelling. A gifted statistician, outstanding economist and <a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/hope/article-abstract/53/5/925/174115/Rescuing-Henry-GeorgeOptimization-Welfare-and-the?redirectedFrom=fulltext">devotee of Georgism</a>, Hotelling went on to become the thesis advisor of two Nobel Prize winners.</p>
<p>Hotelling enjoyed playing <em>Monopoly</em> with his family, with students, and even alone at night before succumbing to sleep. His chosen version was, naturally, the original Georgist one. Eventually and no doubt subconsciously, he began incorporating the game into his later-renowned economic models. Following a consistently similar writing structure, <a href="https://books.google.fr/books?id=vZfbBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15&dq=darnell+hotelling+papers">Hotelling’s articles</a> dealt with subjects as disparate as taxation, non-renewable resources, geographical economics and social welfare. </p>
<h2>Hotelling’s social optimum</h2>
<p>Firstly, Hotelling defined a model for society and proposed to study the effects that capitalist policy would have on it. He then compared these potential effects with those offered by alternatives such as socialist management. The resulting blend was what he coined the <a href="https://theothereconomy.com/fr/fiches/la-regle-de-hotelling/">“social optimum”</a>, his choice of policy that would help achieve the best for society as a whole.</p>
<p>Aspects for us to optimise always depend on the issue at hand, whether this be maximum well-being, more efficient geographical distribution or optimal exploitation of resources. But regardless of topic, Hotelling’s models consistently drew correlations between the social optimum and Georgist policy. To be clear, Hotelling never actually wrote of “Georgism” in his articles, instead concealing his ideology behind rigorous mathematical proofs. He expressed his ideas by describing ever-accumulating sums of money, leaving aside everything except solid logic and discussing it all in terms of social welfare. However, an ingeniously playful theme runs through his articles, whereby he compares various social utopias by replicating them into the microcosm of the board game.</p>
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<p>Driven by a tireless thirst for knowledge, Hotelling rose through the ranks of American academia and eventually achieved international renown. The apex of his career as an economist came in 1938 when he turned his attention to natural monopolies, referring to those that make any form of market competition nigh on impossible. These economic phenomena usually occur when initial investment costs are so high that it is extremely difficult and ultimately infeasible for two companies to invest and compete. Some examples are rail transport, electricity and drinking water. Yes, these are the very same companies present on the <em>Monopoly</em> board and <a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/hope/article-abstract/53/5/925/174115/Rescuing-Henry-GeorgeOptimization-Welfare-and-the?redirectedFrom=fulltext">no, this is not a coincidence</a>.</p>
<p>Using some <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1907054.pdf">clever calculations</a> to compare the level of well-being that would be created by different social models, Hotelling managed to demonstrate how much train tickets, drinking water and electricity would need to be subsidised in order to service the common good. Again, he drew comparisons between capitalist society and his social optimum. And again, the ideas of Elizabeth Magie became reincarnated as an economic model.</p>
<h2>A flourishing hypothesis</h2>
<p>Hotelling’s writings from 1938 on natural monopolies met with unexpected success. In France, after a turbulent discussion that culminated in a profound friendship with Hotelling, economist Maurice Allais used the idea to support a cogent political argument to change the face of French power and rail management. Meanwhile across the Atlantic, <a href="https://news.yale.edu/2020/03/10/giving-economist-nancy-ruggles-her-due">Nancy Ruggle</a> (another researcher whose work deserves more visibility) and a <a href="http://coin.wne.uw.edu.pl/mbrzezinski/teaching/HE4/BlaugWelfareTheorems2007.pdf">handful of other economists</a> were gradually transforming Hotelling’s concepts into what we now know as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_theorems_of_welfare_economics">second theorem of welfare economics</a>.</p>
<p>It was also because of Hotelling that one of Allais’s students, Gérard Debreu, came to the United States and brought a new topological angle to the issue at the heart of Hotelling’s 1938 idea. Debreu’s theories were fed by the ever more complex and impassioned debates that he was privy to with Hotelling and Allais. He later applied his method to what is now arguably the most celebrated economic theorem, the <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mod%C3%A8le_Arrow-Debreu">Arrow–Debreu model</a>. Kenneth Arrow, a talented student of Hotelling’s, also took his teacher’s social optimum concept further and won a Nobel Prize for it. Another of Hotelling’s protégés was Will Vickrey, who also won a Nobel Prize and expanded on a number of his teacher’s ideas.</p>
<p>Although Hotelling was likely unaware of the existence of Elizabeth Magie, he never stopped playing <em>Monopoly</em>. To this day, the popular board game continues to hide references to a number of economic models, while Georgist ideals have found their way into modern economics under the guise of “social optimum”. So, <em>Monopoly</em> is celebrated and referenced every day by economists and academics the world over. Some will have no knowledge of Magie and her game, nor the teachings of Georgism. And yet, the game continues to creep unnoticed into their research, textbooks and lectures.</p>
<p><em>Translated from the French by Enda Boorman for <a href="http://www.fastforword.fr/en">Fast ForWord</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195681/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Michael Mueller ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>The game’s roots provide insights into capitalism that form part of teaching and research to this day.Thomas Michael Mueller, Maître de conférence HDR en histoire de la pensée économique à l'Université Paris 8, Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1908892022-09-26T12:29:54Z2022-09-26T12:29:54ZWhy Patagonia’s purpose-driven business model is unlikely to spread<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486179/original/file-20220922-33324-7c2yoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=187%2C97%2C4797%2C2747&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Patagonia has always sought to limit its environmental harm.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/american-outdoor-clothing-brand-company-patagonia-store-news-photo/1233478351?adppopup=true">Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Patagonia founder <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/climate/patagonia-climate-philanthropy-chouinard.html">Yvon Chouinard</a>, his wife, Malinda, and their two adult children no longer own the outdoor gear and apparel company. But based on my experience as a former executive who is now an <a href="https://globalbusiness.tufts.edu/experience/leadership-faculty/kenneth-pucker/">adviser and lecturer focused on sustainability</a>, I don’t expect many other U.S.-based companies to follow their lead.</p>
<p>Going forward, all of Patagonia’s profits, some <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/09/14/patagonia-yvon-chouinard-climate-change/">US$100 million annually</a>, will fund efforts to address climate change and advance wilderness preservation, <a href="https://www.patagoniaworks.com/press/2022/9/14/patagonias-next-chapter-earth-is-now-our-only-shareholder">the company announced</a> on Sept. 14, 2022.</p>
<p>In a letter posted to the company’s site, Yvon Chouinard noted that “instead of going public” by selling Patagonia <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/what-does-going-public-mean/">shares to investors</a>, “you could say we’re ‘going purpose.’” The family has permanently transferred its ownership to a trust and a nonprofit. </p>
<p>By “purpose,” Chouinard means that the company’s profits will be used to protect the planet, as opposed to enriching shareholders. I see this choice as a valiant extension of Patagonia’s years of struggle to make <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-climate-crisis-is-transforming-the-meaning-of-sustainability-in-business-166539">capitalism more compatible with planetary sustainability</a>. It also acknowledges the difficulty of trying to balance the interests of employees, customers and shareholders with the precarious state of the planet. </p>
<h2>Urging customers to buy less</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/09/15/patagonia-chouinard-environmental-activism-climate/">Chouinard stumbled into entrepreneurship</a> as a “dirtbag” rock climber. Dissatisfied with the damage done to mountains by climbing equipment, he began to <a href="https://blog.papertrail.io/blog/patagonia">forge his own gear</a>, initially doing all the work himself and then employing others. He remained a reluctant capitalist even as he founded Patagonia in 1973.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
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<span class="caption">Yvon Chouinard always took his rock climbing gear seriously.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yvon_Chouinard_by_Tom_Frost.jpg">Tom Frost/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>One example of this reluctance was a famous full-page ad <a href="https://www.patagonia.com/stories/dont-buy-this-jacket-black-friday-and-the-new-york-times/story-18615.html">his company ran in The New York Times</a> on Black Friday in November 2011. Rather than lure shoppers with doorbuster sales and early opening hours, Patagonia implored its customers not to buy the company’s signature synthetic fleece jacket and to “buy less” of everything.</p>
<p>The ad lamented “the culture of consumption … [that] puts the economy of natural systems that support all life firmly in the red.” </p>
<p>Though Patagonia’s ad made a big splash, I didn’t find it surprising. Several years earlier I had visited Chouinard at Patagonia’s headquarters in Ventura, California.</p>
<p>At the time, I recall being wowed by the <a href="https://www.patagonia.com/family-business/">on-site day care center</a>, the company’s pledge to donate <a href="https://www.patagonia.com/one-percent-for-the-planet.html">1% of its revenue</a> to “the preservation and restoration of the natural environment” and the employees I witnessed heading out to surf in the middle of the day. In person, Chouinard seemed even more strident and less commercially motivated than I had imagined.</p>
<p>Perhaps ironically, given Patagonia’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/09/15/patagonia-chouinard-environmental-activism-climate/">seemingly anti-commercial posture</a>, the company’s sales continued to grow, reaching <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/28257/patagonia-inc-revenue-company-db/">more than an estimated $1 billion</a> annually. </p>
<p>Seeing his name listed in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/yvon-chouinard/?sh=385e30f24fb5">Forbes’ exclusive list of the richest people</a> made Chouinard recoil, saying “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/14/patagonias-billionaire-owner-gives-away-company-to-fight-climate-crisis-yvon-chouinard">it really pissed me off</a>.”</p>
<h2>Timberland’s approach</h2>
<p>At the time of that California visit, I was serving as the <a href="https://globalbusiness.tufts.edu/experience/leadership-faculty/kenneth-pucker/">chief operating officer of Timberland</a>, an outdoor footwear, apparel and accessories company. Like Patagonia, it was privately controlled at the time – it has <a href="https://www.vfc.com/brands">since become part of VF Corporation</a>, a publicly traded outdoor-focused conglomerate.</p>
<p>Timberland’s model blended “<a href="https://www.coursehero.com/file/6867841/Timberland/">commerce and justice</a>” by combining the pursuit of profit with respect for global human rights, support for <a href="https://www.timberland.com/about-us/our-story.html">community service and a commitment to environmental stewardship</a>.</p>
<p>Timberland was one of the first companies in the world to issue a <a href="https://libguides.colorado.edu/businessethics/reports">corporate social responsibility</a> report, paid for all employees to perform <a href="https://www.timberland.com/responsibility/stories/how-we-serve.html">40 hours’ community service</a> and was one of the last companies to continue to manufacture millions of shoes and boots in its own factories.</p>
<p>Patagonia and Timberland <a href="https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/2002/05/14/timberland-is-honored/51291558007/">have both</a> <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/us-outdoor-clothing-brand-patagonia-wins-un-champions-earth-award">earned acclaim and awards</a> for their creative attempts to demonstrate that business can serve not just shareholders but also employees, local communities and other stakeholders.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486161/original/file-20220922-29450-dk5v02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People walk past a Timberland store" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486161/original/file-20220922-29450-dk5v02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486161/original/file-20220922-29450-dk5v02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486161/original/file-20220922-29450-dk5v02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486161/original/file-20220922-29450-dk5v02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486161/original/file-20220922-29450-dk5v02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486161/original/file-20220922-29450-dk5v02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486161/original/file-20220922-29450-dk5v02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Timberland, like Patagonia, has made corporate social responsibility a priority.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-walk-past-an-american-retail-shop-timberland-news-photo/1176002474">Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Business Roundtable</h2>
<p>Chouinard’s choice to “go purpose” seems to be a more dramatic version of a <a href="https://www.businessroundtable.org/business-roundtable-redefines-the-purpose-of-a-corporation-to-promote-an-economy-that-serves-all-americans">historic declaration</a> issued by the Business Roundtable in August 2019.</p>
<p>The group represents close to 200 chief executives, including the leaders of JPMorgan Chase, Apple, BlackRock and Walmart. Appearing to abandon its longstanding commitment to shareholder primacy, it recast the purpose of a corporation. </p>
<p>“We share a fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders,” including suppliers, employees, communities and the environment,“ the group declared in what many observers saw as a shift to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/business/business-roundtable-ceos-corporations.html">more balanced and responsible form of capitalism</a>.</p>
<p>In my view, however, current systems, structures and incentives ensure that revenue and profit growth remain sacrosanct for companies. As a result, calls by well-intentioned advocates for more focus on social or environmental issues <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-capitalism-solve-capitalisms-problems-130427">remain no match</a> for a model governed by the pressure to deliver short-term results.</p>
<p>So far, business as usual remains the norm.</p>
<p>Unlike Chouinard’s decision to allocate 100% of Patagonia’s profits to environmental causes, the Business Roundtable’s 2019 statement is nonbinding and doesn’t compel companies to do anything differently.</p>
<p><a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2020/08/18/was-the-business-roundtable-statement-mostly-for-show-2-evidence-from-corporate-governance-guidelines/">Research published in 2020</a> seems to confirm that the roundtable’s new statement of purpose was mostly performative. Since its release, close to 100 of the companies that belong to the group have updated their governance guidelines, but very few had "made any changes to their statement of corporate purpose.” </p>
<p>In addition, the researchers examined 26 proposals that shareholders had introduced with the goal of implementing the roundtable’s statement. “Each company invariably opposed these proposals,” the study observed. </p>
<h2>Rational executives</h2>
<p>Chouinard’s remake of Patagonia’s governance acknowledges an important reality.</p>
<p>When presented with a situation in which social welfare and private profits align, companies <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-capitalism-solve-capitalisms-problems-130427">will act sustainably</a>. However, when circumstances pit public welfare against a company’s bottom line, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703338004575230112664504890">executives typically side with their shareholders</a>.</p>
<p>This does not make most executives evil; it makes them rational. They are responding to capitalism’s current system rules and incentives.</p>
<p>That’s why I find Chouinard’s imaginative act of moral courage uplifting. </p>
<p>At the same time, I believe that it would be naive and even harmful to expect many others to follow his example by voluntarily choosing a purpose other than the pursuit of profits.</p>
<p>Expecting businesses to do so would relieve government of its responsibility to set different rules to protect the environment and address climate change. I also agree with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/climate/patagonia-climate-philanthropy-chouinard.html">David Gelles</a>, the New York Times reporter who broke the story about Patagonia’s new governance structure. As <a href="https://www.vox.com/today-explained">Gelles noted in a Vox interview</a>, Chouinard’s family is “one of one.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190889/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ken Pucker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Yvon Chouinard, his wife and their two adult children have given the company he founded away. From now on, its profits will fund climate and conservation work.Ken Pucker, Senior Lecturer, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1882932022-08-11T04:02:22Z2022-08-11T04:02:22ZSurprise discovery shows you may inherit more from your mum than you think<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478492/original/file-20220810-667-mqu3i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C0%2C1914%2C1276&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/QQqXgcPyYec">leah hetteberg/unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What if we could inherit more than our parents’ genes? What if we could inherit the ability to turn genes on and off?</p>
<p>These possibilities have come to light after our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32057-x">recent study</a>, published in Nature Communications. We found information in addition to our genes was passed down from mum to offspring to affect how their skeleton develops. That’s the “epigenetic” information that’s normally reset between generations. </p>
<p>Our research was in mice, the first case of its kind in mammals where a long-lasting epigenetic effect from the mother’s egg is carried down to the next generation. This has lifelong consequences for that generation’s health.</p>
<p>However, we cannot be certain the equivalent epigenetic changes are also inherited in humans, including the implications for how our skeleton develops and potential impact on diseases.</p>
<h2>Hold up, what’s epigenetics again?</h2>
<p>Our genes (packages of DNA) tell our body to make certain proteins. But our cells also need instructions to know whether a gene should be used (switched on) or not (switched off). </p>
<p>These instructions come in the form of chemical or “epigenetic” tags (small molecules) that sit on top of the DNA. You accumulate these tags throughout your life.</p>
<p>Think of how punctuation marks help a reader understand a sentence. Epigenetic tags allow the cell to understand a DNA sequence.</p>
<p>Without these epigenetic tags, the cell might make a protein at the wrong time or not at all.</p>
<p>Timing is crucial in how embryos develop. If certain genes are expressed (switched on to produce a protein) too early or too late, an embryo will not develop properly.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ekVOdhTfhp0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">What is epigenetics?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What did we find?</h2>
<p>We were interested in understanding the function of a protein in mouse eggs (ova) called SMCHD1. </p>
<p>By removing SMCHD1 from mouse eggs, we found mice that developed from eggs lacking SMCHD1 had an altered skeleton, with some vertebrae in the spine being disrupted.</p>
<p>This could only be explained by an epigenetic change due to the loss of SMCHD1 in the egg.</p>
<p>In particular, we looked at a set of genes known as <em>Hox</em> genes. These encode a series of proteins known to control how mammals’ skeletons develop. </p>
<p><em>Hox</em> genes are found in all animals, from flies to humans, and are crucial for setting up our spine. Evolution has finely tuned the timing of the expression of <em>Hox</em> genes during embryonic development to ensure the skeleton is assembled correctly.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1551709619361239040"}"></div></p>
<p>Our study showed that epigenetic tags established by the mother’s SMCHD1 in her egg can impact how these <em>Hox</em> genes are expressed in her offspring. </p>
<p>The findings are a big surprise because almost all epigenetic tags in the egg are erased shortly after conception. Think of this a bit like a factory reset.</p>
<p>This means it’s unusual to have epigenetic information from the mother’s egg carried on to her offspring to shape how they grow.</p>
<h2>What does this mean for us?</h2>
<p>Our findings suggest even the genes you don’t inherit from your mother can still influence your development.</p>
<p>This may have implications for the children of women with variants in their SMCHD1 gene. Variations in SMCHD1 cause human diseases such as a form of <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/muscular-dystrophy">muscular dystrophy</a>.</p>
<p>In the future, SMCHD1 might be a target for new medicines to alter how the protein functions and help patients with diseases caused by variations in SMCHD1. So it’s important to understand what consequences the disruption of SMCHD1 in the egg might have on future generations.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kids-learning-and-health-is-shaped-by-genes-they-dont-inherit-as-well-as-genes-they-do-90852">Kids' learning and health is shaped by genes they don't inherit, as well as genes they do</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>How about other diseases?</h2>
<p>Scientists are now beginning to understand that the epigenetic tags added to our genes are sensitive to changes in the environment. This can mean
environmental variations, such as our diet or level of physical activity, can affect how our genes are expressed. However, these changes do not alter the DNA itself. </p>
<p>The epigenetic state undergoes the most changes when the egg is developing and during very early embryonic development, due to the “factory reset” between generations. This means the embryo is more vulnerable to epigenetic, including environmental, changes during this developmental window. </p>
<p>As we discover more cases where epigenetic information is inherited from the mother, there may be instances where the diet or other environmental changes the mother experiences could impact the next generation.</p>
<p>Given that scientists can now study what happens in a single egg, we are well placed to determine how that might happen and work out what exactly we could be inheriting.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188293/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marnie Blewitt receives funding from The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and has previously received funding from the Bellberry-Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellowship. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natalia Benetti receives funding from an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. </span></em></p>Our study in mice shows epigenetic changes in the mother can be passed to her offspring to influence a critical time in how the spine develops.Marnie Blewitt, Head, Molecular Medicine Laboratory, Walter and Eliza Hall InstituteNatalia Benetti, PhD Student, Epigenetics and Development Division, Walter and Eliza Hall InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1863842022-07-13T03:21:20Z2022-07-13T03:21:20ZWhat happens if you die without a will?<p>Actor Chadwick Boseman, star of Marvel’s Black Panther, died in 2020 aged 43 from colon cancer. It came to light last month his estate would be <a href="https://radaronline.com/p/chadwick-boseman-widow-parents-estate-3-million-split-black-panther/">split evenly</a> between his widow and his parents, following a legal process.</p>
<p>Although he knew for some time that he was dying, he did not make a will. This is why his estate (all his money and assets) passed by what’s legally called “intestacy” – the rules governing someone’s estate if they don’t have a will.</p>
<p>Boseman was one of <a href="https://www.caring.com/caregivers/estate-planning/wills-survey">around 66% of Americans</a> who didn’t make a will before he died. </p>
<p>Australians are different. They have one of the highest rates of will-making in the world. For example, in Queensland in 2012, <a href="https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198747123.001.0001/acprof-9780198747123-chapter-15">79% of people over 35 had made a will</a> and 54.5% of those over 18 had made one. </p>
<p>It’s possible this is a function of Australia’s high level of home ownership comparative to other countries, and that people often make their first will when they buy their first house.</p>
<p>But here’s what happens if you die without a will in Australia – and why you should make one if you haven’t already.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-families-fight-over-inheritances-and-how-to-avoid-it-177795">Why families fight over inheritances – and how to avoid it</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>The law of intestacy</h2>
<p>If you don’t leave a will, then the law of intestacy will apply.</p>
<p>Each state and territory in Australia has rules for intestacy. These set out who is to inherit, and in what shares, when the deceased hasn’t made a will. The rules are based on Western ideas of kinship, derived from English law. They focus on the nuclear family as it descends over time.</p>
<p>Although rules differ in each state, there’s a pattern that puts the spouse first (married, registered partner, de facto, same sex, heterosexual). The spouse gets a significant part – sometimes all – of the estate.</p>
<p>If there’s anything left after the spouse takes their share, then the children, and grandchildren, and so on share the remainder. If there’s no spouse and no children or grandchildren, then the estate may go to parents, then aunts, uncles and cousins. Some states extend this a little, but if none of these relatives survives, the estate goes to the government. </p>
<p>If you make a will, you can decide not only who will take particular parts of your estate, but also who is your “executor” – the person tasked with carrying out your wishes.</p>
<p>You can explain your wishes and trust they will carry them out after they have been granted “probate”. Probate gives them the right to deal with your body and property.</p>
<p>If you die intestate you get no choices – a court will decide who should administer your estate, and appoint someone (the administrator) to do that. This might be the Public Trustee or anyone the court thinks suitable.</p>
<p>The executor or administrator is supposed to pay debts, gather assets, do the last tax return for the deceased and manage the property until it’s clear who will benefit, and then distribute to the beneficiaries. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People making a will" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473279/original/file-20220711-45278-wlj7k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473279/original/file-20220711-45278-wlj7k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473279/original/file-20220711-45278-wlj7k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473279/original/file-20220711-45278-wlj7k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473279/original/file-20220711-45278-wlj7k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473279/original/file-20220711-45278-wlj7k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473279/original/file-20220711-45278-wlj7k3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Making a will gives you choices and control over what happens to your money and assets when you die.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Who’s in the family?</h2>
<p>In intestacy it’s assumed you think about your family in the same way the legal system does.</p>
<p>Intestacy may work very well where property held isn’t very complex, and for people whose idea of family matches the law’s view of family.</p>
<p>But many people in Australia do not, including some immigrants whose ideas of family may be more extended, and many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people whose ideas of family connections may be very different.</p>
<p>Where kinship ideas don’t match, intestacy can be problematic. For example, in many Aboriginal groups, children regard their aunt or uncle as “mother” or “father”. Aunts and uncles often have obligations to help take care of their siblings’ children, who they think of as their own children, according to <a href="https://www.tag.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-08/Aboriginal-Wills-Booklet-3rd-Edition-2020_Web%20version.pdf">my research</a> into culturally appropriate will making.</p>
<p>But the intestacy scheme will ignore this. This can create ill-feeling and confusion.</p>
<p>This is why in the Northern Territory, New South Wales and Tasmania it’s possible to use <a href="https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWSC/2017/1.html?context=1;query=Re%20Wilson">customary law</a> for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who die without a will.</p>
<h2>You lose choice without a will</h2>
<p>For the rare people whose property consists only of a house held in joint tenancy, a joint bank account and superannuation, you may not need a will because property will pass to the other owner by the mere fact of living longer.</p>
<p>But anyone with more complex property than this needs a will.</p>
<p>Intestacy has no room for individual differences. For example, without a will you cannot set up a special trust for a child who has an intellectual disability, or donate to a charity, or pick out the particular people you wish to get particular things.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-do-more-for-your-favorite-charity-consider-a-planned-gift-138241">Want to do more for your favorite charity? Consider a planned gift</a>
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<p>Death creates grief and sometimes grief overwhelms good sense and creates greed leading to disputes. Intestacy is a safety net, but where there has been no planning in the form of a will there may be greater grief and confusion because people do not know what to do.</p>
<p>The advantages of a will include that it can smooth the changeover of property from one person to another, and allows the individual to have their own wishes respected.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186384/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Prue Vines received funding from the NSW Trustee and Guardian for research contributing to this article. </span></em></p>Death creates grief and sometimes grief overwhelms good sense and creates greed leading to disputes. Making a will is the best way to smooth the process of transferring your estate once you die.Prue Vines, Professor, Law Faculty, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1777952022-05-17T15:01:13Z2022-05-17T15:01:13ZWhy families fight over inheritances – and how to avoid it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462734/original/file-20220512-24-3eaxs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Inheritance gone wrong is a popular theme in <a href="https://www.hbo.com/succession">fiction</a>. In the recent German miniseries <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14122228/">The Funeral</a>, the one-sided will of the family patriarch unhinges the entire ceremony, and long-held hostilities are aired at the grave.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1332/204674317X14908575604683">our research</a>, we tried to understand why families go to court to fight over inheritances. We found that there has been an increase in inheritance disputes reported annually since 1985. Using digital case reports databases, we selected 32 court cases which took place in England in 2014 to analyse closely, providing detailed insights into contemporary family life.</p>
<p>Here are four reasons why families can end up in court to contest a will – and how to avoid a court battle. </p>
<h2>Wealth</h2>
<p>Families go to court if there is something worth fighting for. This graph shows the amounts at stake in the cases we looked at. </p>
<p>Smaller inheritance disputes are more likely to be settled out of court. If you have substantial assets to bequest, inheritance planning becomes extremely important.</p>
<h2>Owning a business</h2>
<p>Physical assets are extremely hard to share and distribute among family members. This makes the bequest of the family home a difficult matter, especially if one child continues to live in the family home. If the house is shared among the siblings, the child living in the family home would be asked to take out a mortgage to pay their siblings.</p>
<p>It is even worse, however, for physical assets relating to a working business, such as farm land. Typically, people aim to protect the family business by passing it on to one heir. Problems can arise, though, if a family member is promised the inheritance or given a “<a href="https://www.farminglife.com/business/lessons-recent-case-davies-v-davies-1213427">verbal indication</a>” that they will receive it – and perhaps works in the business in expectation of it – and is then left out of the will. </p>
<p>A promise can be enforced in English law, though, so an heir can have a very sound legal foundation to claim these promised property rights in court. This is especially if they have acted in the past on the expectation of this promise being fulfilled, such as carrying out refurbishments or renovations. </p>
<h2>Sibling rivalry</h2>
<p>Most of the conflicts we came across in our research took place among members of the same generation. Sibling rivalry and envy is a key reason to go to court over an estate. This graph shows the relationships between the parties in the cases we studied. </p>
<p>More siblings and a large extended family make it harder to find common ground about a fair share of assets.</p>
<h2>The legacy of divorce</h2>
<p>Conflicts between ex-partners can become battles fought in court between children and the surviving parent. </p>
<p>One of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm17108">the cases we studied</a> concerned a deceased mother and the tax due on her pension. She had had pension assets in her ex-husband’s business, but had transferred them before her death to ensure that they were passed on to her children, and not to her ex-husband. This is an example of how unsettled divorce conflicts can continue to haunt children even after their parents have died.</p>
<h2>How to avoid conflict</h2>
<p>Inheritances provide a way to maintain social status or get on the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2017.1408778">property ladder</a>. Drawing from our court case examples, families should follow a few simple rules. Open and honest communication is essential. In many cultures it is a taboo to talk openly about death, but communicating your intentions and expectations during your lifetime will reduce stress and the possibility of unwelcome surprises for your loved ones.</p>
<p>Keeping your promises is key. In other words, don’t change your will at the last minute on your deathbed – this can be easily challenged in court. </p>
<p>And finally, children who fear being left out should seek constructive, non-confrontational conversations during the lifetime of their parents. Building such mutual expectations during the lifetime is key. Afterwards, families are only left with judges as arbitrators.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177795/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research underpinning this article received funding from INTEGRATE (International
Network of Generational Transfers Research) (ESRC ES/J019259/1).</span></em></p>Communicating your intentions and expectations during your lifetime is key.Stephan Köppe, Assistant Professor of Social Policy, University College DublinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1735692022-01-05T13:48:22Z2022-01-05T13:48:22ZOnline tools put will-writing in reach for most people – but they’re not the end of the line for producing a legally binding document<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437385/original/file-20211213-13-1k65k5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1152%2C2682%2C1579&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Paper copies of wills haven't gone extinct yet, but online estate tools have brought will preparation into the 21st century.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Last_Will_and_Testament_of_C.F.Beyer.1872_and_1876.jpg">Bradshaw79/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The promise of online wills is undeniable. Online programs offer people an easy way to write their wills. Online templates can be completed anywhere, at any time. There is no office appointment, no indiscreet questions from a lawyer about who is getting what. You don’t have to leave home and you don’t even have to get dressed. </p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6kPZNuMAAAAJ&hl=en">law professor</a> who teaches will and trusts, and I have no doubt that online wills are the wave of the future. I bought stock in the online will preparation company LegalZoom when it made its <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/30/legalzoom-debuted-up-30percent-ceo-sells-further-push-into-digital-market.html">market debut</a> on June 30, 2021. But, despite my enthusiasm (and hopefully successful investment), online wills aren’t right for everyone, nor are they appropriate in all circumstances. Moreover, it is important to remember that simply filling out an online form doesn’t produce a legally binding will.</p>
<p>What’s great about online wills is the increased ease that they offer, which is significant in terms of making will-writing more palatable to people. Online wills are also important in terms of equity and opportunity. As many as <a href="https://theconversation.com/68-of-americans-do-not-have-a-will-137686">68% of Americans die without a will</a> and, while reasons vary for this stunningly high number, one factor is likely lack of access to legal services. </p>
<p>People contemplating will-writing are understandably deterred by the daunting task of finding the right lawyer and the possible cost of the transaction. Online services like Legal Zoom, US Legal Wills and Nolo’s Quicken WillMaker & Trust pointedly advertise the low cost of their services and offer <a href="https://www.legalzoom.com/personal/estate-planning/last-will-and-testament-overview.html">basic packages</a> for a will starting at around US$90. Other websites, like Rocket Lawyer, advertise <a href="https://www.rocketlawyer.com/family-and-personal/estate-planning/make-a-will/document/last-will-and-testament">free will templates</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kCXSZPU8U68?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Wills are about more than just who gets what property.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Online wills have the potential, therefore, to bring wills and estate planning to populations that might not otherwise have contact with legal services – assuming that the person writing the will has computer and internet access. Similar tools for medical directives and living wills make end-of-life preparations more accessible as well.</p>
<h2>State law is the bottom line</h2>
<p>Increased accessibility, however, is only part of the story. One fundamental problem with online wills is that they are not valid unless they are properly executed according the state probate rules. Simply filling out an online form is not enough to create a valid will. Each state has <a href="https://www.lawserver.com/law/state/virginia/va-code/virginia_code_64-2-403">specific rules</a> for determining whether or not a will has been validly executed. For the most part, these rules require that the will be in writing, signed and witnessed by two people.</p>
<p>These requirements focus on the physical – physical documents and the physical presence of witnesses. The writing and signature requirements generally mean that a person must print out the online will and sign a hard copy, and the witnessing also needs to be done in person. States have begun to consider moving toward electronic wills, spurred on mostly by the new and demanding conditions of physical distancing <a href="https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/notarizing-and-witnessing-legal-documents-during-the-coronavirus-crisis.html">brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YM-1CvIn5yo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Online will preparation is convenient but usually not enough by itself to complete a legally binding document.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some states adopted <a href="https://www.actec.org/resources/emergency-remote-notarization-and-witnessing-orders/">temporary emergency orders</a> authorizing electronic wills during the first phases of the pandemic, but most states have yet to fully adopt electronic wills or <a href="https://frostbrowntodd.com/when-and-where-can-i-sign-my-will-with-remote-witnessing-estate-planning-lessons-learned-from-the-pandemic/">remote witnessing</a>. Something to check, then, when considering an online will is whether or not the program or template is state specific and clearly explains what further steps will be needed to validly execute the will after the document has been prepared online. </p>
<h2>Covering the what-ifs</h2>
<p>Something else worth investigating for those considering online wills is what kind of questionnaire the program provides. Estate planning, as I tell my students all the time, is about matching up your things with the people you want to inherit them. </p>
<p>Good will-drafting is also, however, about imagining worst-case scenarios, thinking three steps ahead and writing <a href="https://www.freewill.com/learn/what-is-a-contingent-beneficiary">contingency plans</a> into the document. Who gets that ugly landscape painting if Aunt Bridget is already dead when you die? Does Cousin Jamal get any replacement value if the stock he was supposed to receive through the will was sold? What happens if the family members who were supposed to inherit the bulk of the estate all die in an unexpected avalanche during a ski vacation? </p>
<p>Accordingly, those in the market for an online will should make sure that the online program offers a detailed questionnaire to guide them through the strange and sometimes gruesome world of unlikely but incredibly important “what-if” scenarios. </p>
<h2>Things can get complicated</h2>
<p>Finally, while it might be obvious, online will templates are best for simple estates. If you have real property in more than one state, if you have a complicated family structure involving multiple marriages and sets of children, if you have a family business that will be passed down – in all these situations you might consider consulting an estate planner. That person can give you advice on how to deal with these more legally complicated and financially sophisticated situations that online will templates are not necessarily set up to accommodate.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 140,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>Ultimately, then, you may need to get out of bed to have your will witnessed, and you may need to leave your house to consult with a lawyer about complicated assets. But the good news is that with online will-writing programs you can do a lot of the groundwork at home, drinking coffee in your pajamas.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173569/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Allison Anna Tait owns a small number of shares in Legal Zoom</span></em></p>Online tools promise to democratize estate planning and will preparation, but users are responsible for complying with state laws.Allison Anna Tait, Professor of Law, University of RichmondLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1641452021-08-13T12:26:47Z2021-08-13T12:26:47ZWhy Warren Buffett is a model for his billionaire peers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411086/original/file-20210713-23-14b3e65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=219%2C572%2C5012%2C2682&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">CEO Warren Buffett was surrounded by press and fans when he arrived at Berkshire Hathaway's 2019 annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, in May 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/warren-buffett-ceo-of-berkshire-hathaway-is-surrounded-by-news-photo/1141086038">Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Warren Buffett is a popular billionaire at a time <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/20/bezos-space-travel-blue-origin-amazon-criticism">when outrage over</a> the <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/billionaire-wealth-covid-pandemic-12-trillion-jeff-bezos-wealth-tax/">excesses of extreme wealth</a> is growing in <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wealth-billionaires-outlook-insight/in-2020-the-ultra-rich-got-richer-now-theyre-bracing-for-the-backlash-idUSKBN2BH0J7">tandem with billionaires’ fortunes</a>.</p>
<p>But based on what I learned about him while becoming a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118813454.ch27">scholar of finance</a> and a portfolio manager, I see Buffett as a model for his ultrarich peers.</p>
<p>He has <a href="https://archive.fortune.com/2006/06/25/magazines/fortune/charity1.fortune/index.htm">given half of his vast fortune</a> to charity and <a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=177">plans to unload the most of the rest</a> during his lifetime or upon his death. Buffett also largely lives a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXg0V2tyhXo">modest lifestyle</a> by billionaire standards; he still resides in the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2012/07/26/Homes-of-Billionaires:-Warren-Buffett.html">spacious house</a> he bought six decades ago.</p>
<p>“My needs are simple,” he <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210623005262/en/">explained in June 2021</a>. “What made me happy at 40 makes me happy at 90.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415329/original/file-20210809-27-g22k0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Warren Buffett's house in Omaha, Nebraska" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415329/original/file-20210809-27-g22k0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415329/original/file-20210809-27-g22k0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415329/original/file-20210809-27-g22k0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415329/original/file-20210809-27-g22k0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415329/original/file-20210809-27-g22k0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415329/original/file-20210809-27-g22k0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415329/original/file-20210809-27-g22k0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Warren Buffett still lives in the same house in Omaha, Nebraska, that he bought for $31,500 in 1958, about $300,000 in today’s dollars.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/located-in-a-quiet-neighborhood-of-omaha-nebraska-lies-the-news-photo/1148861911">Paul Harris/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Nose for business</h2>
<p><a href="https://buffett.cnbc.com/buffett-timeline/">The investor was born in 1930</a> as the Great Depression set in. He exhibited a nose for business at a very young age – long before he became <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/01/071801.asp">one of the richest people in the world</a>. As of March 2021, Buffett’s <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-berkshire-buffett-net-worth/warren-buffetts-net-worth-reaches-100-billion-idUSKBN2B22GF">net worth had topped $100 billion</a>.</p>
<p>While still in elementary school, the future “<a href="https://www.biography.com/business-figure/warren-buffett">Oracle of Omaha</a>” would buy packs of Wrigley’s chewing gum and bottles of Coca-Cola from his grandfather’s Nebraska grocery store and <a href="http://specials.rediff.com/money/2006/dec/26buffet.htm">sell them around his neighborhood for a profit</a>. He purchased shares of his <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/warren-buffett-reminisces-about-buying-first-stock-at-11-i-had-become-a-capitalist-and-it-felt-good-2019-02-23">first stock at age 11</a>.</p>
<p>As a teen, he established <a href="https://www.theglobalist.com/warren-buffetts-reflections-on-delivering-papers/">a large paper route</a> and, with a friend, invested in <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-buffett-bought-pinball-machine-123000456.html">pinball machines</a> they stationed in barbershops, splitting the profits with the shop owners. By age 15 he had <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/31/heres-how-warren-buffett-hustled-to-make-53000-as-a-teenager.html">bought 40 acres of Nebraska farmland</a> with the proceeds from earlier business ventures. </p>
<h2>Berkshire Hathaway’s backstory</h2>
<p>Shortly after completing his graduate degree at Columbia University, Buffett worked for his mentor, investment legend <a href="https://www.famouseconomists.net/benjamin-graham">Benjamin Graham</a>, in New York City. When Graham retired from the investment business, Buffett returned to his hometown of Omaha and ran a series of successful hedge funds, known as the <a href="https://www.pragcap.com/warren-buffett-partnership-letters/">Buffett Partnerships</a>.</p>
<p>In the late 1960s Buffett viewed the stock market as overvalued, and he had the integrity to return his investors’ capital, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/24/why-warren-buffett-worked-through-christmas-in-1969.html">closing his original investment business</a>. During the latter years of his partnership, Buffett <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/041714/how-warren-buffett-made-berkshire-hathaway-worldbeater.asp">took over Berkshire Hathaway</a>, a struggling textile maker. He eventually made it his primary business activity.</p>
<p>Over several decades Buffett turned the company into the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/berkshire-hathaway-portfolio/">conglomerate it remains</a> today, with annual sales of <a href="https://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=BRKB">$245 billion</a> and market capitalization of <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BRK-B/key-statistics?p=BRK-B">$654 billion</a>. It employs roughly <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BRK-B/profile?p=BRK-B">360,000</a> people through its <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-q2-businesses-bnsf-housing-cars-jets-2021-8">many subsidiaries</a>.</p>
<p>The dizzying rise of Berkshire’s stock, and that of the aforementioned Buffett Partnerships, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/warren-buffetts-lucky-millionaires-club-1445419800">made thousands of people rich</a>. Mindful of their long-term interests and his age-related health risks, he recently named long-term employee <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/03/investing/warren-buffett-succesor-greg-abel/index.html">Greg Abel as his successor</a>. Even so, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/09/investing/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-earnings/index.html">Buffett has not indicated an intention to retire</a> from Berkshire Hathaway. Its shares gained about 25% in the first eight months of 2021. </p>
<h2>Life on his own terms</h2>
<p>Buffett borrowed much of his philosophy from his father, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1964/04/30/archives/howard-buffett-60-an-excongressman.html">Howard Buffett</a>, a stockbroker and conservative Republican who spent eight years in Congress.</p>
<p>Buffett describes this philosophy as following his “<a href="https://fs.blog/2016/08/the-inner-scorecard/">inner scorecard</a>.” It essentially involves living life on his own terms and not worrying about what others think or trying to “keep up with the Joneses.”</p>
<p>Accordingly, Buffett does not fit neatly into any box, exhibiting characteristics for almost everyone to like or dislike. He’s a “card-carrying capitalist” who really does <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhnTOUYLuM8">carry a capitalism card</a> in his wallet. </p>
<p>He says he is a Democrat, but over the years he has voted for and donated money to both Democrats and Republicans. He’s not religious, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tSL2K0rMTY">describing himself as agnostic</a>. His late wife and the foundation named after her that he has funded, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, were and are <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/9/17/20754970/billionaire-philanthropy-reproductive-health-care-politics">substantial supporters of reproductive rights organizations</a> that favor access to legal abortions.</p>
<p>Warren Buffett spent more than 20 years <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/warren-buffett-and-the-two-women-who-shaped-him/news-story/770979e6c82f4da29a6b2dd6144a3baa">apparently considering himself to be happily married to Susan</a>, who spent her later years in San Francisco, and another woman named <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/02/usa.andrewclark">Astrid Menks</a>, who lived in Omaha, at the same time. Following his first wife’s 2004 death, Buffett married Menks in a small and informal ceremony.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bhnTOUYLuM8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Warren Buffett displays his ‘capitalism card’ and discusses his political leanings during this 2020 CNBC interview.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sharing and caring</h2>
<p>With Bill and Melinda French Gates he created <a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=177">The Giving Pledge</a>, through which billionaires commit to giving at least half their fortunes to charity. Buffett is going way beyond that: “More than 99% of my wealth will go to philanthropy during my lifetime or at death,” he pledged. </p>
<p>Rather than establish his own foundation, he has poured his charitable money into five foundations run by others, especially the <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/6/23/22547150/warren-buffett-bill-melinda-gates-foundation-philanthropy">Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation</a> – for which he <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/leadership?division=Executive%20Leadership">served as a trustee until 2021</a>. Upon stepping down, Buffett observed that he has similarly exited all the corporate boards to which he used to belong because his “<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210623005262/en/">physical participation is in no way needed</a>.” </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415315/original/file-20210809-23-1veho1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Warren Buffett's three children" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415315/original/file-20210809-23-1veho1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415315/original/file-20210809-23-1veho1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415315/original/file-20210809-23-1veho1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415315/original/file-20210809-23-1veho1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415315/original/file-20210809-23-1veho1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415315/original/file-20210809-23-1veho1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415315/original/file-20210809-23-1veho1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">All three of Warren Buffett’s children run their own foundations. From left to right, they are Howard Buffett, Susan Alice Buffett and Peter Buffett.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BerkshireHathawayShareholders/05725f6861bf4153a81dd0a3b330612f/photo?boardId=37be9465fcce45d283d5431cccb20a6a&st=boards&mediaType=audio,photo,video,graphic&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=163&currentItemNo=31">AP Photo/Nati Harnik</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Buffett says he has given very little money to his three children, <a href="https://abc17news.com/news/national-world/cnn-national/2021/07/20/warren-buffett-fast-facts/">Howard Graham Buffett, Peter Buffett and Susan Alice Buffett</a>, aside from hundreds of millions of dollars for the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/businessmain/warren-buffett-his-birthday-gives-kids-600m-972645">foundations they each run</a>.</p>
<p>As of mid-2021, he said he was happy to have gradually given the five foundations he has funded Berkshire Hathaway shares <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210623005262/en/">worth a cumulative total of $41 billion</a>, noting: “Society has a use for my money; I don’t.” </p>
<p>Buffett expresses his generosity in other ways as well. For example, he’s one of <a href="https://www.morningfuture.com/en/2017/12/11/warren-buffett-innovation-women-investments-startup/">corporate America’s strongest proponents</a> of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmagoldberg/2016/06/15/warren-buffett-advocates-for-women-in-business-at-white-house-summit-on-women/?sh=1d7b6ec71161">women in business</a>. For example, he mentored <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/18/berkshire-executive-and-buffett-protege-tracy-britt-cool-is-leaving.html">Tracy Britt Cool</a> for more than a decade as she rose from a financial assistant to CEO of Pampered Chef, a Berkshire subsidiary. In 2019 she started her own private equity firm, modeled after Berkshire, with Buffett’s support.</p>
<p>Buffett began to share his knowledge on the financial markets and the economy in 1977 <a href="https://turningpointmoney.com/the-very-best-ceo-letters-to-shareholders/">in his widely read</a> <a href="https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html">shareholder letters</a>. His annual shareholder meetings, known as “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/06/heres-what-it-was-like-at-buffetts-woodstock-for-capitalists.html">Woodstock for capitalists</a>” is akin to a Disney vacation for thousands of families each year. </p>
<p>Many of his <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/05/cnbc-launches-the-warren-buffett-archive.html">media appearances have also been archived</a> for all to see and learn from. Buffett also voluntarily met with scores of <a href="https://omaha.com/money/buffett/warren-buffett-soon-to-be-88-says-hell-no-longer-host-college-students-in-omaha/article_5788e85f-65f8-52fa-89af-aae84a525904.html">college students</a> for decades about eight times a year for a Q&A session and tour of his businesses.</p>
<p>I personally attended several of these sessions in Omaha with my students. That experience <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Buffett%27s+Tips%3A+A+Guide+to+Financial+Literacy+and+Life-p-9781119763918">inspired me to write a book about Buffett</a> with my teenage son.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415317/original/file-20210809-17-1x4uid4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Berkshire Hathaway shareholders fill the CenturyLink arena in Omaha, Nebraska" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415317/original/file-20210809-17-1x4uid4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415317/original/file-20210809-17-1x4uid4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415317/original/file-20210809-17-1x4uid4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415317/original/file-20210809-17-1x4uid4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415317/original/file-20210809-17-1x4uid4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415317/original/file-20210809-17-1x4uid4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415317/original/file-20210809-17-1x4uid4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When Warren Buffett speaks, a lot of people want to listen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BerkshireHathawayShareholders/5601f9d1204144beb155746d9d17176a/photo?Query=warren%20AND%20buffett&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=1512&currentItemNo=148">AP Photo/Nati Harnik</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The ‘Buffett Rule’</h2>
<p>Buffett freely admits that he has <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/338189">benefited from a system</a> that lets billionaires pay very low tax bills, partly because it taxes income instead of wealth. He has famously lamented paying a <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/01/warren-buffett-and-his-secretary-talk-taxes">lower tax rate than his secretary</a>. </p>
<p>For years he advocated for the so-called “<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/buffettrule.asp">Buffett Rule</a>,” a minimum 30% tax on those making more than $1 million a year to remedy the problem. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2012/04/16/senate-rejects-obamas-buffett-rule-on-taxes.html">Congress rejected</a> it in 2012.</p>
<p>Buffett also acknowledges that the rich pay less tax when they <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-charitable-deduction-an-economist-explains-162647">deduct what they give to charities</a> from their taxable income, while questioning whether that is a problem.</p>
<p>“I believe the money will be of more use to society if disbursed philanthropically than if it is used to slightly reduce an ever-increasing U.S. debt,” <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20798866-buffett-statement-june-2-2021">he said</a> in response to <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax">ProPublica’s reporting on the light taxation of billionaires</a>.</p>
<p>To be sure, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-reason-americans-are-getting-leery-of-billionaire-donors-162409">value of a tax system that encourages billionaires to give money away</a> rather than to the Internal Revenue Service is open to debate. But I admire his generosity and business acumen.</p>
<p>“After much observation of super-wealthy families, here’s my recommendation,” Buffett said in an <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210623005262/en/">update on his charitable giving</a>: “Leave the children enough so that they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing.” </p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164145/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Longo and his son, Tyler Longo, own shares in Berkshire Hathaway and are the co-authors of Buffett's Tips: A Guide to Financial Literacy and Life (Wiley, 2020).
</span></em></p>The investor has already given half of his $100 billion fortune to charity and he has pledged to disburse nearly all of the rest.John M. Longo, Professor of Finance, Rutgers University - NewarkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1624092021-06-10T12:37:42Z2021-06-10T12:37:42ZA new reason Americans are getting leery of billionaire donors<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405236/original/file-20210609-25-c2ix16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=439%2C355%2C5801%2C3265&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some extremely rich people are paying a much smaller share of their income on taxes than other folks.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/tax-payment-reduction-government-policy-royalty-free-illustration/1283840027">Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and the rest of the 25 richest Americans <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax">paid very low federal income taxes</a> from 2014 to 2018 even as they amassed wealth, according to Internal Revenue Service data ProPublica says it <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/why-we-are-publishing-the-tax-secrets-of-the-001">obtained from an anonymous source</a>. In some years, the nonprofit media outlet reported, these wealthy people paid no federal income tax at all.</p>
<p>This is not illegal. The U.S. <a href="https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2021/03/what-is-a-wealth-tax-and-should-the-united-states-have-one">government taxes only income, not wealth</a>, and these very rich people gave <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-window-into-the-hearts-and-minds-of-billionaire-donors-139161">billions of dollars away</a>. In many cases, the money they gave to charity helped reduce their federal income taxes through the <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/tax-cuts-jobs-act-affect-charitable-giving/">charitable tax deduction</a>.</p>
<p>The news is <a href="https://apnews.com/article/personal-taxes-business-ab6466a9dcc211907a753ccfb7660959">rekindling a debate</a> over the value of the charitable giving done by America’s billionaires – whether it’s a force for good, perpetuates enduring social problems or does some of both. It’s raising even bigger questions, like what it takes to build a better world and who gets to decide how to take on the toughest global challenges. As a result, many Americans, <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/news/story/3097/binghamton-university-students-give-over-14000-to-local-nonprofits-2021">including my philanthropy students</a>, are becoming more critical regarding the <a href="https://givingpledge.org/">billions the world’s richest people give</a> away. In fact, in one recent survey, <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/3/30/22357510/poll-billioniares-data-for-progress-vox-wealth-philanthropy-inequality">Americans were almost evenly divided</a> as to whether philanthropy by the richest Americans did more good (40%) than bad (36%).</p>
<p>Even some of the superwealthy are turning their backs on traditional ways of giving. Since getting divorced from Amazon founder Bezos in 2019, <a href="https://www.philanthropy.com/article/does-mackenzie-scotts-giving-approach-signal-a-new-eramentioned">MacKenzie Scott has given at least US$5.8 billion to some 500 nonprofits</a>. She has <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-ways-mackenzie-scotts-5-8-billion-commitment-to-social-and-economic-justice-is-a-model-for-other-donors-152206">emphasized social and racial justice</a> in her philanthropy to a much greater extent than the other top givers and generally trusted the recipients to decide how to spend these funds rather than demand they follow her agenda.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Comedian and commentator Hasan Minhaj questions the logic of modern philanthropy in his “Patriot Act” show.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The critics</h2>
<p>A growing number of well-known scholars and activists have raised the alarm about billionaire giving, including <a href="https://www.philanthropy.com/article/philanthropy-is-once-again-undermining-racial-justice-movements">Megan Ming Francis, Erica Kohl-Arenas</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/25/opinion/bill-melinda-gates-foundation.html">Linsey McGoey</a>. These critics and others take aim at wealthy donors like Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates not only for the tax system that makes it easier for them to amass great fortunes but also for the influence they have on the best way to address complex social problems. </p>
<p>Several books published in recent years take a systematic look at these issues, most prominently journalist Anand Giridharadas’ “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/539747/winners-take-all-by-anand-giridharadas/9780451493248/">Winners Take All</a>,” Stanford University political scientist Rob Reich’s “<a href="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/14186.html">Just Giving</a>,” foundation leader Edgar Villanueva’s “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/588996/decolonizing-wealth-by-edgar-villanueva/9781523097890/">Decolonizing Wealth</a>” and writer David Callahan’s “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/533633/the-givers-by-david-callahan/9781101971048/">The Givers</a>.” </p>
<p>While these critics of billionaire philanthropy don’t agree on everything, I see four common themes in their work.</p>
<p>First, philanthropy allows the wealthy, on their own, to decide how to fix the world’s biggest problems, like poverty and inadequate educational opportunities. This is a problem, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/opinion/philanthropy-minorities-charities.html">Villanueva argues</a>, because solving problems effectively requires working together with people you’re trying to help and understanding the challenges they face. Similarly, <a href="https://www.philanthropy.com/article/philanthropy-is-once-again-undermining-racial-justice-movements">Kohl Arenas and Ming Francis argue</a> that big philanthropists have historically co-opted the social movements they fund, imposing their visions over their grantees.</p>
<p>Second, they say a <a href="https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Give-Everyone-the-Same-Tax/245160">broken tax system unfairly subsidizes</a> wealthy donors compared with everyone else, giving them even more money to use in deciding how to eradicate disease or clean up the environment. Given how the tax code works, Bezos could receive a tax break of $390 million for every $1 billion he donates. In contrast, a middle-class donor who gives her local food bank $100 probably won’t get any tax benefit when she files her return.</p>
<p>In effect, as Reich and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/20/opinion/jeff-bezos-bill-gates-philanthropy.html">Callahan point out</a>, the government helps the charities supported by the wealthiest donors more than those backed by the rest of us. As a remedy, Callahan has proposed limiting the <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-did-tcja-affect-incentives-charitable-giving">charitable tax deduction</a>. </p>
<p>Third, mega-donors are to a degree interfering with democratic processes. Reich has called Gates “<a href="https://crooked.com/podcast/trust-what-got-you-here/">America’s unelected school superintendent</a>” because of the millions of dollars the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has poured into school reform efforts. This giving means he may have more of a say in how local schools are run than do community residents, even though democracy operates on the principle that the people and their representatives should decide how to solve complex social problems.</p>
<p>Fourth, billionaires tend to favor causes that benefit or at least do not endanger their own bottom lines. <a href="https://twitter.com/anandwrites/status/1135545045384409094?s=11">Giridharadas observes</a> that despite <a href="https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-12-01-he-paid-off-morehouse-grads-debt-now-robert-smith-is-trying-income-based-financing-at-hbcus">Robert F. Smith’s generosity toward the Morehouse class of 2019</a>, whose student debt the investor paid off, he has also <a href="https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2019/05/22/morehouse-robert-smith-college-debt-miles-howard">fought against changes to the tax code</a> that would have made more money available to help low-income students pay for college. On balance, Giridharadas argues, Smith’s giving to political and charitable causes could be reinforcing the status quo and perpetuating income inequality. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Anand Giridharadas often voices his concerns about elite philanthropy, including in this CNBC interview.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The defenders</h2>
<p>Not so fast, say the philanthropic leaders who consider these criticisms overstated. </p>
<p>The most high-profile of the defenders these days is Phil Buchanan, CEO of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, which researches how foundations operate, sponsors conferences and helps grant-makers assess their own performance. In his book “<a href="https://cep.org/giving-done-right/">Giving Done Right</a>,” Buchanan agreed with the critics about some of the sector’s flaws. But he also argues that they <a href="https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Critiques-of-Philanthropy-Are/246338?cid=cpfd_home">have gone too far</a> when they dismiss Smith’s gift to Morehouse students as a stunt. </p>
<p>The defenders of big-bucks philanthropy note that wealthy donors and foundations are making a real difference. </p>
<p>They also note that philanthropy and the charities it funds have long been a staple of the <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/06/01/the_assault_on_generosity_and_voluntary_action_140452.html">American approach to problem-solving</a>. They have protected children, housed the homeless and supported the arts, among other things. The critics, they contend, are downplaying the important role private giving – and volunteering – play in a country where the nonprofit sector accounts for about <a href="https://nccs.urban.org/publication/nonprofit-sector-brief-2018#the-nonprofit-sector-in-brief-2018-public-charites-giving-and-volunteering">5% of the economy</a> and <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/nonprofits-account-for-12-3-million-jobs-10-2-percent-of-private-sector-employment-in-2016.htm">10% of the workforce</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, they say critics like Giridharadas are simply unrealistic. They advocate for a wholesale reform of the tax system, philanthropy and government’s role in solving big problems. But Buchanan sees big reforms as unlikely, at best. And, <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/5/27/18635923/philanthropy-change-the-world-charity-phil-buchanan">he worries</a>, these criticisms could lead wealthy donors to move away from giving. In the meantime, he says, “<a href="https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Critiques-of-Philanthropy-Are/246338">but, here we are, with wealthy people who want to give back</a>,” arguing that you have to work with the world as it is, not the world you might prefer.</p>
<p>Finally, while these defenders of philanthropy are likely to admit some reforms are necessary, they see more good than bad. They want to see elite philanthropy improved and expanded, not restrained.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/philanthropys-bad-reputation-could-put-big-donors-off-giving-heres-why-it-matters-116023">British scholar Beth Breeze</a>, who is currently writing a book on this topic, <a href="https://www.rwfund.org/eng/2021/06/03/beth-breeze-philantropy-is-worth-defending/">has noted</a> she is “concerned about both simplistic criticisms and careless cheerleading.” She argues that we should see philanthropy as “worth defending” because of its “positive potential – which includes improving and saving lives.”</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1400690906731270144"}"></div></p>
<h2>Making sense of it all</h2>
<p>Using private money to solve public problems, even when the <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2021/report-covid-related-philanthropy-credits-mackenzie-scott-powering-25-u-s-giving/">giving happens quickly</a> and with few strings attached as <a href="https://apnews.com/article/philanthropy-business-becea4d7e620f15ec481af99ce29fa7d">MacKenzie Scott is doing</a>, raises hard questions that are worth struggling over. </p>
<p>For anyone trying to make sense of this debate, I suggest deciding whether you feel like philanthropy’s problems can be solved. If you do, work within the system and try to make it better. If you don’t, join forces with others aiming to bring about more fundamental change.</p>
<p><em>Editor’s note: The Gates Foundation is a funder of The Conversation Media Group. Portions of this article appeared in a previous piece published on <a href="https://theconversation.com/my-students-see-giving-money-away-as-a-good-thing-but-theyre-getting-leery-of-billionaire-donors-116627">June 5, 2019.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162409/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Campbell receives funding from The Learning by Giving Foundation to support his student philanthropy courses, and is a member of the board of the Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation, in Binghamton, NY. </span></em></p>News about how little income tax some of the richest Americans reportedly pay is adding to questions about the value to society of their massive charitable donations.David Campbell, Associate Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1550832021-03-11T13:31:16Z2021-03-11T13:31:16ZWomen grow as much as 80% of India’s food – but its new farm laws overlook their struggles<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388852/original/file-20210310-23-vt1aa6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C9%2C3277%2C1860&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Planting paddy saplings in Patiala, India. Three-quarters of Indian farmers are women, but most don't own their land.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/women-plant-paddy-sapling-in-a-field-in-village-ramgarh-on-news-photo/1222267130?adppopup=true">Bharat Bhushan/Hindustan Times via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Indian women are left behind on farms to make ends meet as <a href="http://www.ihdindia.org/sarnet/module1/TumbeMissingMenMigrationandLaborMarketsinIndia.pdf">more men in India migrate from rural areas to cities</a>, seeking higher incomes and better jobs. </p>
<p>Nearly <a href="https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/304918/bn-when-women-farm-india's-land-increasing-ownership-301013-en.pdf">75% of the full-time workers on Indian farms are women</a>, according to the international humanitarian group OXFAM. Female farmers produce 60% to 80% of the South Asian country’s food.</p>
<p>So it’s little surprise women are playing a visible role in the monthslong nationwide protests against <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/12/roaring-crowds-roti-and-rihanna-the-view-from-a-delhi-farm-protest-camp">agricultural reforms</a> passed last September by the Indian government. </p>
<p>Small farmers are particularly vulnerable to three new laws, which deregulated the agricultural market and weakened the government-established minimum sale price for crops in ways that, demonstrators say, could pit small farmers against big agribusiness firms.</p>
<p>And women, as the most marginal of India’s small farmers, may suffer the most if the laws go into effect.</p>
<p>“We barely have any land. If that too is gifted to [billionaires], then what will we eat?” 69-year-old Surinder Kaur, a member of the Kisan Sabha farmers union, told the <a href="https://thewire.in/agriculture/women-farmers-protest-dilli-challo">Indian digital news site The Wire</a> when asked why she was protesting.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388849/original/file-20210310-17-5k6wgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Dozens of Indian women look solemnly defiant riding in the back of a truck" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388849/original/file-20210310-17-5k6wgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388849/original/file-20210310-17-5k6wgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388849/original/file-20210310-17-5k6wgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388849/original/file-20210310-17-5k6wgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388849/original/file-20210310-17-5k6wgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388849/original/file-20210310-17-5k6wgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388849/original/file-20210310-17-5k6wgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indian farmers leave a protest in February 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/indian-women-farmers-leave-back-from-protest-site-at-tikri-news-photo/1231614478?adppopup=true">Muzamil Mattoo/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Invisible, unpaid labor force</h2>
<p>In a given crop season, when fields are sown and harvested, women farmers in India work about <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/02/women-bear-burden-indias-water-crisis/">3,300 hours</a>, double the 1,860 hours their male counterparts put into farming.</p>
<p>Yet their work feeding their families and the country remains <a href="https://thewire.in/agriculture/women-farmers-protest-dilli-challo">undervalued and largely overlooked by the government</a>. </p>
<p>“Women become de facto farm managers when men shift to non-farm
jobs, but are not recognized as such because they seldom own the farm,” <a href="https://magazine.outlookindia.com/story/india-news-the-invisible-farmers/304184">according to</a> the Indian development economist Bina Agarwal.</p>
<p><a href="https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/304918/bn-when-women-farm-india's-land-increasing-ownership-301013-en.pdf">One-third of female farmers</a> in India are unpaid laborers on family farms owned by their parents, husbands or in-laws, according to OXFAM. Indian women own just <a href="https://www.indiaspend.com/73-2-of-rural-women-workers-are-farmers-but-own-12-8-land-holdings/">12.8% of the country’s land</a>. </p>
<p>The imbalance in access to property has partly to do with India’s inheritance laws. Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist women in India were given <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/sc-gives-equal-inheritance-right-to-daughters-from-1956/articleshow/77493244.cms">equal inheritance rights to ancestral property</a> in 2005 – legally, if not always in practice. Women of other faiths have separate personal laws governing property rights in India. </p>
<p>Since over <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/immersive/women-farmers-of-india.html">90% of agricultural land</a> in India is transferred through inheritance, women remain stuck as laborers for generation after generation, never <a href="https://thewire.in/women/nfhs-5-data-womens-empowerment">owning the land they work, or even their own homes</a>.</p>
<h2>No title, no money</h2>
<p>Women with strong property and inheritance rights <a href="https://www.landesa.org/wp-content/uploads/Girls-and-Land-A-Briefer-on-Landesas-Girls-Project-June-2018.pdf">earn nearly four times more</a> money, the land rights nonprofit organization Landesa stated in a 2018 report. </p>
<p>Land is an asset that can be used not only for agricultural production but also as collateral to access credit, government programs that support farmers, even pensions. But to get these opportunities, a land title is required. An OXFAM study in Uttar Pradesh state found that <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/india-women-farmers-persevere">just 4% of female farmers have access to institutional credit</a>. </p>
<p>When three-quarters of all a country’s farmers are women, their problems become a problem for the entire nation. Researchers in India call this the “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13547860.2017.1394569?journalCode=rjap20">feminization of its agrarian distress</a>.” </p>
<p>And India’s agriculture problems are severe indeed. Farmers face declining plot sizes, degraded soils, scarce water and rising debt. In the past 25 years, over <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/31/suicides-of-nearly-60000-indian-farmers-linked-to-climate-change-study-claims">300,000 desperate, debt-ridden farmers</a> in the country have committed suicide.</p>
<p>Suicide rates for female farmers are often underrepresented in the data because of their lack of land titles, but the numbers are also increasing. <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2019/11/5/as-debt-grows-more-indian-women-farmers-taking-their-lives">According to the news site Al Jazeera</a>, which accessed a government database collected by local authorities in the Amravati district of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, an average of one female farmer there takes her own life each month. </p>
<p>“We plow the fields, and we feed the country. This struggle is for our rights,” Norinder Kaur, 70, told the <a href="https://www.thelily.com/at-indias-farmers-protests-these-women-are-reclaiming-their-space/">women’s news site The Lily at a protest on March 2</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388908/original/file-20210310-13-10ajvzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Crowd of hundreds of women holding green flags and raising their fists in the streets" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388908/original/file-20210310-13-10ajvzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388908/original/file-20210310-13-10ajvzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388908/original/file-20210310-13-10ajvzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388908/original/file-20210310-13-10ajvzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388908/original/file-20210310-13-10ajvzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388908/original/file-20210310-13-10ajvzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388908/original/file-20210310-13-10ajvzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An International Women’s Day protest in New Delhi by Indian farmers and women’s organizations on March 8.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/indian-female-farmers-and-members-of-different-womens-non-news-photo/1231595842?adppopup=true">Imtiyaz Khan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Unequal market access</h2>
<p>One particular aspect of India’s new farm laws, the elimination of a government-regulated middleman agency from crop sales, is likely to have different outcomes for woman than for men.</p>
<p>For women, the government-regulated market negotiators were an <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/women-farmers-seek-to-scale-the-mandi-glass-ceiling/article31904597.ece">avenue for bargaining and price discovery</a> that did not require women to physically enter the male-dominated agricultural markets and haggle with traders over crop prices.</p>
<p>The Indian government says a freer market will enable farmers to sell or purchase agricultural produce anywhere in the country, helping them get a better price. But entrenched gender inequality makes Indian female farmers <a href="https://www.indiaspend.com/how-to-get-indias-women-working-first-let-them-out-of-the-house-74364">much less able to travel than men</a>, so their access to markets may now be limited.</p>
<p>However imperfect, India’s past agricultural regulations at least ensured that <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K4V9N0TBRIFoNo07ESYMp846WThDMVQ8/view">crop sale prices nationwide in India remained close to the price floor</a> set by the government, said the Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch – an informal grouping of some 120 women farmers organizations and their allies – in a statement. </p>
<p>The group fears the new “era of fragmented and unregulated markets” will be even less “women farmer-friendly” than the old system.</p>
<h2>Limited access to justice</h2>
<p>India’s agricultural reforms may also hurt women’s ability to resolve agricultural disputes. </p>
<p>Under the <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-in-farm-laws-the-dispute-settlement-provision-govt-has-offered-to-roll-back-7106606/">new laws</a>, problems among the farmers and traders or agribusiness firms would be settled by a new agricultural board, not the local courts as is done now. </p>
<p>Women’s access to the legal system in India is <a href="https://www.barandbench.com/columns/international-womens-day-2019-the-plight-of-women-litigants-in-india">already limited</a>. But going forward, if agribusiness firms file a claim in a far-off jurisdiction, female farmers who lack access to transport and money to travel would be at an even greater disadvantage. </p>
<p>“We work on the fields too, and we put our sweat and blood into our day,” <a href="https://www.thelily.com/at-indias-farmers-protests-these-women-are-reclaiming-their-space/">said</a> Nimrat Deep Kaur, a 45-year-old agricultural laborer, interviewed at a Marchfarmers protest on March 2. “I am here so I can raise my voice as an equal with the men who are protesting.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155083/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Most Indian farmers are women. But few own their land, and gender inequality limits their access to markets. These issues won’t be fixed by recent agricultural reforms; in fact, they may get worse.Bansari Kamdar, Graduate Student, UMass BostonShreyasee Das, Assistant Professor, Temple UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1519452020-12-16T13:24:04Z2020-12-16T13:24:04ZFooting the COVID-19 bill: economic case for tax hike on wealthy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374595/original/file-20201213-20-1760vw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sheila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Governments shouldn’t be worried that raising taxes on the rich will harm their economies when deciding on how to pay for COVID-19. Our <a href="http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/107919/">new research</a>, which has yet to be peer reviewed, on 18 advanced economies shows that major tax cuts for the rich over the past 50 years have pushed up inequality but have had no significant effects on economic growth or unemployment. </p>
<p>These findings shed new light on a debate that has long divided policymakers, with one side claiming higher taxes on the rich could raise revenue and reduce inequality, and the other arguing that low taxes on the rich are the best route to wider <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/16/donald-trump-republican-tax-cuts-us-economy-rock">economic prosperity</a>.</p>
<p>The data suggests that low taxes on the rich bring economies little benefit, and this suggests there is a strong economic case for raising taxes on the rich to help repair public finances following the pandemic.</p>
<p>As the COVID-19 pandemic is putting government finances under pressure worldwide, higher taxes on the rich are back on the political agenda. In the US, the president-elect, Joe Biden, has promised to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/10/heres-whats-ahead-for-president-elect-bidens-tax-plan.html">raise taxes on top income earners and corporations</a>. Voices demanding a wealth tax have also become louder in the <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2020/12/09/is-it-time-for-a-wealth-tax-to-offset-the-economic-damage-from-covid-19/">UK</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-one-off-tax-on-wealth-could-cover-the-economic-cost-of-the-coronavirus-crisis-137677">Germany</a>. Given the damage the pandemic has done to economies, the notion of getting the most affluent to help foot the bill is one that has many supporters. But once again this is being countered by those who insist that low taxes are crucial for stimulating the economy.</p>
<p>Such arguments about the efficiency advantages of low taxes on the rich have been powerful drivers of previous tax cuts. The graph below shows <a href="https://www.taxrich.uk/data">a new comprehensive indicator</a> that measures taxes on the rich across countries and over time by combining the most important taxes on the rich including taxes on top incomes, capital and inheritances. Since the 1980s, many countries have legislated major tax cuts for the rich. For instance, the two Reagan tax cuts in the US reduced top rate taxes substantially in 1982 and 1987. In the UK, taxes on the rich dropped significantly under the Thatcher administration, with major tax cuts in 1979 and 1988.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374495/original/file-20201211-20-b6tw65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374495/original/file-20201211-20-b6tw65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374495/original/file-20201211-20-b6tw65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374495/original/file-20201211-20-b6tw65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374495/original/file-20201211-20-b6tw65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374495/original/file-20201211-20-b6tw65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374495/original/file-20201211-20-b6tw65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374495/original/file-20201211-20-b6tw65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Note: Vertical red lines show years with major tax cuts for the rich.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Falling taxes on the rich have coincided with a period of rising inequality, especially at the top of the income distribution as the graph below shows. This trend has been most severe in the Anglo-Saxon countries. The US really stands out, with over one-fifth of pre-tax national income now going to the richest 1% of individuals.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374497/original/file-20201211-22-mqmlwh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374497/original/file-20201211-22-mqmlwh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374497/original/file-20201211-22-mqmlwh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374497/original/file-20201211-22-mqmlwh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374497/original/file-20201211-22-mqmlwh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374497/original/file-20201211-22-mqmlwh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374497/original/file-20201211-22-mqmlwh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374497/original/file-20201211-22-mqmlwh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">World Inequality Database, wid.world (data accessed 10 July 2020)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Few economic benefits of low taxes on the rich</h2>
<p>Our research compared countries that passed laws for major tax cuts in a given year with those that didn’t. For example, we looked at economic outcomes in Australia following the 1987 tax reform and the USA following the 1982 tax cuts and compare them to economic outcomes in countries that did not cut taxes on the rich at the same time (the results are in the graph below). We repeated such comparisons for each major tax cut for the rich in 18 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries from 1965 to 2015.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374490/original/file-20201211-23-n797us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374490/original/file-20201211-23-n797us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374490/original/file-20201211-23-n797us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374490/original/file-20201211-23-n797us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374490/original/file-20201211-23-n797us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374490/original/file-20201211-23-n797us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374490/original/file-20201211-23-n797us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374490/original/file-20201211-23-n797us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Note: Red squares show years with major tax cuts for the rich, and blue squares show years without.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our results show that countries that implemented major tax cuts saw the richest 1% increase their income share in the following years. Five years after reform, the effect was a more than 0.8 percentage points increase in the top 1% income share (see the graph below). As a comparison, in the US, the poorest 10% of income earners have a total income share of 1.8%. In contrast, we did not find any significant effect of tax cuts on economic growth and unemployment. Gross domestic product per capita and unemployment rates are nearly identical after five years in countries that cut taxes on the rich and in those that did not.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374491/original/file-20201211-17-1j3cm87.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374491/original/file-20201211-17-1j3cm87.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374491/original/file-20201211-17-1j3cm87.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374491/original/file-20201211-17-1j3cm87.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374491/original/file-20201211-17-1j3cm87.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374491/original/file-20201211-17-1j3cm87.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374491/original/file-20201211-17-1j3cm87.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Note: Dark blue line shows the effect of major tax cut for the rich over time. 95% confidence area is shaded in light blue.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The rich could pay the coronavirus bill</h2>
<p>Many analysts and policymakers believe that taxes will need to rise in the coming years to ensure the sustainability of public finances. Higher taxes on the rich could help to fund the substantial and <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-has-brought-the-welfare-state-back-and-it-might-be-here-to-stay-138564">potentially long-lasting</a> expansion of government spending and social protection seen during the pandemic. They could also help address health and economic inequalities, which have only been <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-coronavirus-pandemic-is-already-increasing-inequality-135992">exacerbated by COVID-19</a> and its economic fallout. </p>
<p>Such tax rises after crises are not unprecedented. Historically, the main drivers of taxes on the rich were <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-we-ready-to-raise-taxes-on-the-rich-history-says-no-57777">wars</a> and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ser/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ser/mwz055/5704798">economic catastrophes</a>. The COVID-19 crisis might have a similar effect. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.taxrich.uk/">recent research</a> shows that the economic case for low taxes on the rich is weak. Major tax cuts for the rich since the 1980s have <a href="https://theconversation.com/inequality-in-the-oecd-is-at-a-record-high-and-society-is-suffering-as-a-result-119962">worsened income inequality</a> without boosting economic performance. This might be welcome news for supporters of higher taxes on the rich in the wake of the pandemic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151945/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We find low taxes on the rich bring economies little benefit. This suggests there is a strong economic case for raising taxes on the rich to help repair public finances following the pandemic.David Hope, Lecturer in Political Economy, King's College LondonJulian Limberg, Lecturer in Public Policy, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1515392020-12-07T16:06:59Z2020-12-07T16:06:59ZWe scanned the DNA of 8,000 people to see how facial features are controlled by genes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373138/original/file-20201204-17-3yrbd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C34%2C3255%2C2025&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Using 3-D facial images researchers have identified changes in the DNA that contribute to variation in facial features. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Julie D. White</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong>Takeaways</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>A new study reveals more than 130 regions in human DNA play a role in sculpting facial features.</strong></p></li>
<li><p><strong>The nose is the facial feature most influenced by your genes.</strong></p></li>
<li><p><strong>Understanding the link between specific genes and facial features could be useful for treating facial malformations or for orthodontics.</strong> </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>You might think it’s rather obvious that your facial appearance is determined by your genes. Just look in the family photo album and observe the same nose, eyes or chin on your grandparents, cousins and uncles and aunts. Perhaps you have seen or know someone with a genetic syndrome – that often results from a damaging alteration to one or more genes – and noticed the often distinctive facial features.</p>
<p>You may be surprised to learn that until very recently, geneticists had virtually no understanding of which parts of our DNA were linked to even the most basic aspects of facial appearance. This gap in our knowledge was particularly galling since facial appearance plays such an important role in basic human interactions. The availability of large data sets combining genetic information with facial images that can be measured has rapidly advanced the pace of discovery.</p>
<p>So, what do we know about the genetics of facial appearance? Can we reliably predict a person’s face from their DNA? What are the implications for health and disease? We are <a href="https://www.dental.pitt.edu/person/seth-weinberg-0">an anthropologist</a> and <a href="https://www.publichealth.pitt.edu/home/directory/john-r-shaffer">a human geneticist</a> whose research focuses on uncovering the biological factors that underlie the similarities and differences in facial appearance among humans. </p>
<h2>How many genes are associated with facial appearance?</h2>
<p>We still don’t have a complete answer to this question, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.12.090555">recent work published in Nature Genetics by our collaborative research team</a> has identified more than 130 chromosomal regions associated with specific aspects of facial shape. Identifying these regions is a critical first step toward understanding how genetics impacts our faces and how such knowledge could impact human health in the future.</p>
<p>We accomplished this by scanning the DNA of more than 8,000 individuals to look for statistical relationships between about seven million genetic markers – known locations in the genetic code where humans vary – and dozens of shape measurements derived from 3D facial images. </p>
<p>When we find a statistical association between a facial feature and one or more genetic markers, this points us to a very precise region of DNA on a chromosome. The genes located around that region then become our prime candidates for facial features like nose or lip shape, especially if we have other relevant information about their function – for example, they may be active when the face is forming in the embryo. </p>
<p>While more than 130 chromosomal regions may seem like a large number, we are likely only scratching the surface. We expect that thousands of such regions – and therefore thousands of genes – contribute to facial appearance. Many of the genes at these chromosomal regions will have such small effects, we may never have enough statistical power to detect them. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The figure shows selected locations on Chromosome 2 associated with facial shape. Each face shows the likely candidate gene and its observed effect on facial shape displayed as a color-coded heat map. Red indicates regions of the face moving in an outward direction, and blue indicates regions of the face moving in an inward direction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adapted from: White J and Indencleef K.</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What do we know about these genes?</h2>
<p>When we look collectively at the implicated genes at these 130-plus DNA regions, some interesting patterns emerged. </p>
<p>Your nose, like it or not, is the part of your face most influenced by your genes. Perhaps not surprisingly, areas like the cheeks, which are highly influenced by lifestyle factors like diet, showed the fewest genetic associations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No doubt that Kaia Gerber inherited her nose from supermodel mother Cindy Crawford.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/kaia-gerber-and-cindy-crawford-attend-her-time-omega-news-photo/855684684?adppopup=true">Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The ways that these genes influence facial shape was not at all uniform. Some genes, we found, had highly localized effects and impacted very specific parts of the face, while others had broad effects involving multiple parts. </p>
<p>We also found that a large proportion of these genes are involved in basic developmental processes that build our bodies – bone formation, for example – and, in many cases, are the same genes that have been implicated in rare syndromes and <a href="https://theconversation.com/joaquin-phoenixs-lips-mocked-heres-what-everyone-should-know-about-cleft-lip-130181">facial anomalies like cleft palate</a>. </p>
<p>We found it interesting that there was a high degree of overlap between the genes involved in facial and limb development, which may provide an important clue as to why <a href="http://doi.org/10.1002/1096-8628(20000717)93:2%3C110::aid-ajmg6%3E3.0.co;2-9">many genetic syndromes are characterized by both hand and facial malformations</a>. In another curious twist, we found some evidence that the genes involved in facial shape may also be involved in cancer – an intriguing finding given emerging evidence that individuals treated for pediatric cancer show some <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.a.37850">distinctive facial features</a>. </p>
<h2>Can someone take my DNA and construct an accurate picture of my face?</h2>
<p>It is unlikely that today, or for the foreseeable future, someone could take a sample of your DNA and use it to construct an image of your face. Predicting an individual’s facial appearance, like any complex genetic trait, is a very difficult task. </p>
<p>To put that statement in context, the 130-plus genetic regions we identified explain less than 10% of the variation in facial shape. However, even if we understood all of the genes involved in facial appearance, prediction would still be a monstrous challenge. This is because complex traits like facial shape are not determined by simply summing up the effects of a bunch of individual genes. Facial features are influenced by many biological and non-biological factors: age, diet, climate, hormones, trauma, disease, sun exposure, biomechanical forces and surgery. </p>
<p>All of these factors interact with our genome in complex ways that we have not even begun to understand. To add to this picture of complexity, genes interact with one another; this is known as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2452">epistasis</a>,” and its effects can be complex and unpredictable. </p>
<p>It is not surprising then, that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1711125114">researchers</a> attempting to predict individual facial features from DNA have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/185330">unsuccessful</a>. This is not to say that such prediction will never be possible, but if someone is telling you they can do this today, you should be highly skeptical. </p>
<h2>How might research connecting genes and faces benefit humans?</h2>
<p>One of the most exciting developments in medicine in the 21st century is the use of patients’ <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg.2016.86">genetic information to create personalized treatment plans</a>, with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>A deeper understanding of how genes influence the timing and rate of facial growth could be an invaluable tool for planning treatments in fields like orthodontics or reconstructive surgery. For example, if someday we can use genetics to help predict when a child’s jaw will hit its peak growth potential, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajodo.2015.09.012">orthodontists</a> may be able to use this information to help determine the optimal time to intervene for maximal effect. </p>
<p>Likewise, knowledge of how genes work individually and in concert to determine the size and shape of facial features can provide new molecular targets for drug therapies aimed at correcting facial growth deficiencies. </p>
<p>Lastly, greater knowledge of the genes that build human faces may offer us new insights into the root causes of congenital facial malformations, which can profoundly impact quality of life for those affected and their families.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151539/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Seth M. Weinberg receives funding from the National Institutes of Health. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John R. Shaffer receives funding from the University of Pittsburgh and the National Institutes of Health. </span></em></p>Like it or not, the facial feature most influenced by your genes is your nose. Researchers investigate which genes are involved in sculpting the face.Seth M. Weinberg, Associate Professor in the Departments of Oral Biology, Human Genetics, and Anthropology. Co-Director of the Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics, University of PittsburghJohn R. Shaffer, Assistant Professor of Human Genetics, University of PittsburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1391612020-06-05T12:07:31Z2020-06-05T12:07:31ZA window into the hearts and minds of billionaire donors<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339303/original/file-20200602-133892-dinwhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4702%2C3462&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Spanx founder Sara Blakely has signed the Giving Pledge.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/spanx-founder-sara-blakely-speaks-onstage-during-the-news-photo/628598100">Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images for Massachusetts Conference for Women</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2020/05/new-household-pulse-survey-shows-concern-over-food-security-loss-of-income.html">COVID-19 pandemic’s economic toll</a> increases, many billionaires and their <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-happens-to-charitable-giving-when-the-economy-falters-133903">foundations</a> are making very public efforts <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/2020/04/15/jack-dorsey-bill-gates-and-at-least-75-other-billionaires-donating-to-pandemic-relief/#43324da21bd3">to pitch in</a>.</p>
<p>This push to give money to support everything from <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/4/2/21206205/jeff-bezos-100-million-charity-food-banks-feeding-america">food banks</a> to <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/operation-warp-speed-selects-billionaire-scientist-s-covid-19-vaccine-monkey-tests">vaccine research</a> comes a decade after the <a href="https://givingpledge.org/About.aspx">Giving Pledge</a>, a voluntary effort to give away at least half of an immense fortune during the signatory’s lifetime, first launched. </p>
<p>When signatories join the Giving Pledge, they can voluntarily submit a letter explaining their commitment to philanthropy that’s posted on the internet. Together with my colleagues and fellow philanthropy scholars <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenamccollim/">Elena McCollim</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ognhAnMAAAAJ&hl=en">George E. Mitchell</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HbBzLFAAAAAJ">I analyzed</a> these letters to better understand how billionaires make sense of their generosity.</p>
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<h2>10 years old</h2>
<p>Following the Great Recession, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates teamed up with investor Warren Buffett and a few of their wealthy friends to hatch this plan to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/warren-buffett-gateses-200-plus-billionaires-10-years-later-giving-pledge-success-1500497">increase giving among billionaires</a>.</p>
<p>By March 2020, 120 couples, 78 single men and 11 single women had signed on. The members of the Giving Pledge represent <a href="https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/">about 10% of the more than 2,000 known billionaires</a> in the world. To be eligible to join, an individual or a couple must have a <a href="https://givingpledge.org/About.aspx">combined net worth of US$1 billion</a>, including assets they already donated.</p>
<p>Five of the 10 richest men in the United States have joined the Giving Pledge. Besides Gates and Buffett, that includes Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and the entrepreneur and politician Michael Bloomberg. Taken together, the current <a href="https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#47e6bc783d78">combined wealth of those five fortunes</a> adds up to about $385 billion. The total wealth of everyone who signed the pledge in its first decade was at least an estimated $1.14 trillion as of the end of 2019, according to Forbes Magazine.</p>
<h2>Insight into how the wealthy explain their giving</h2>
<p>The letters are typically fairly short and addressed to Buffett or Gates. Many describe why the donors engage in philanthropy and identify a few favorite causes. We found that 187 of the 209 signatories have submitted them. </p>
<p>You cannot assume that the letters contain the true motives for making this pledge, but these missives do open a window into why these billionaires believe they should give away so much of their wealth. None referred to a desire to become more famous, for example, or openly acknowledged any sense of guilt. Yet those feelings might contribute to the personal motivation these rich people have to join the Giving Pledge.</p>
<p>In reviewing the letters, we found 10 distinct explanations for giving. The top five appeared in at least 20% of the letters, while the remaining five were in 10% or fewer. </p>
<p>A desire to be seen as grateful and altruistic dominated many of these accounts, with more than a third describing a drive to make a difference. </p>
<p>“Helping disadvantaged groups live decent lives in the process of creating wealth has been my personal credo,” wrote <a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=333">Dong Fangjun</a>, a Chinese investor who now funds efforts to <a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/a20720193/china-philanthropists-climate-change/">clean up China’s polluted countryside</a>. </p>
<p>The second most common reason was a desire to give back.</p>
<p>“I have so much gratitude for being a woman in America,” wrote <a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=169">Sara Blakely</a>, the founder of the Spanx undergarment company and a supporter of several <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/05/smallbusiness/sara-blakely-spanx/index.html">women’s causes</a>. “I never lose sight that I was born in the right country, at the right time.”</p>
<p>The letters also highlighted the joy of giving.</p>
<p>“I get tremendous pleasure from helping others,” wrote <a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=157">Bill Ackman</a>, an investor and hedge fund manager who funds a wide range of arts, social justice and other kinds of nonprofits. “It’s what makes my life worth living.”</p>
<p>The life lessons taught by parents were another common reason these major donors say they became interested in giving.</p>
<p>“From as far back as I can remember, my parents taught me the importance of giving back, whether we had a little or a lot,” wrote <a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=239">Jim Pattison</a>, a Canadian businessman who supports a wide range of nonprofits, including <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/years-of-stewardship-needed-to-land-donations-like-jim-pattison-s-75m-for-st-paul-s-hospital-1.4044891">hospitals</a>.</p>
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<h2>‘Noblesse oblige’ and other less common motives</h2>
<p>Many of the letters conveyed a sense of “<a href="https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/noblesse-oblige">noblesse oblige</a>,” a French term for the idea that being wealthy creates a duty to give.</p>
<p>“I strongly believe that those of us, who are privileged to have wealth, should contribute significantly to try and create a better world for the millions who are far less privileged,” wrote <a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=269">Azim Premji</a>, a tech industry leader who has become <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-47566542">India’s biggest philanthropist</a>.</p>
<p>Among the five least common explanations our team identified were references to principles of justice, concerns about the downside of immense inheritances, having no other use for vast wealth, religious beliefs and a sense that luck played a big role in becoming rich.</p>
<p>Some of the younger donors described themselves as being only stewards of their wealth. In this view, principles of justice and equality demand that the wealthy share generously.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=385">Jeff Lawson</a>, a co-founder of LinkedIn, and his wife Erica Lawson included a quote by Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the <a href="https://eji.org/">Equal Justice Initiative</a>: “The opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice.” </p>
<p>About a tenth of the letters cited concerns over the possible harm a large inheritance could do to their own kids and grandchildren.</p>
<p>“We all know second- and third-generation wealth where the recipients were actually born on third base but think and act like they hit a triple,” wrote <a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=219">John W. “Jay” Jordan II</a>, an American investor with three children and two stepchildren and one of the biggest donors ever to the <a href="https://news.nd.edu/news/jordans-giving-to-notre-dame-is-unprecedented-75-million-is-largest-single-gift-bringing-total-to-150-million/">University of Notre Dame</a>, his alma mater. </p>
<p>Some pledgers said they see nothing better to do with their excessive wealth. The late real estate investors <a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=279">Herb and Marion Sandler</a>, whose fortune launched the investigative news outlet <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/herb-sandler-the-man-who-made-propublica-possible">Pro Publica</a>, put it this way: “How many residences, automobiles, airplanes and other luxury items can one acquire and use?”</p>
<p>Religion and spirituality play a surprisingly minor role, with some exceptions.</p>
<p>“We were both raised in the Church, and a key theme of the Bible is the importance, the necessity, of giving,” explained <a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=375">Paul Tudor Jones</a>, a hedge fund manager, and his wife Sonia Jones. The couple has made <a href="http://www.philanthropic-giving.com/profiles/paul-tudor-jones/">education</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/12/billionaire-paul-tudor-jones-is-worried-about-the-wealth-gap-here-is-why.html">inequality</a> high priorities in their giving.</p>
<p>Finally, a few of these big donors attributed their eagerness to give away much of their money to being aware of their good fortune. “To be repeatedly in the right place at the right time, that is the mother of all luck,” wrote <a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=216">Mo Ibrahim</a>, the Sudanese telecommunications entrepreneur who invests in <a href="https://mo.ibrahim.foundation/about-us">improving African leadership and governance</a>.</p>
<h2>Out to change the world</h2>
<p>But what sets these donors truly apart from the rest of us is what we philanthropy scholars call “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pf.95">hyperagency</a>” – the desire to singlehandedly change the world in accordance with their ideas and dreams.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=293">Patrick Soon-Shiong</a>, the <a href="https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/innovation/dr-patrick-soon-shiong-solving-covid-19-no-different-cancer">surgeon and entrepreneur</a> who owns the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Los Angeles Lakers, and his wife Michele B. Chan, made an ambitious statement in their letter: “Our passion, our mission is to transform health and health care, in America and beyond.”</p>
<p>In other words, Giving Pledge letters harbor contradictions with their messages about both ambition and humility. Many of the wealthy people who embraced this campaign have seen themselves as uniquely capable of changing the world. At the same time, they would like others to see them as modest, grateful and selfless.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339304/original/file-20200602-133875-ne8ypy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339304/original/file-20200602-133875-ne8ypy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339304/original/file-20200602-133875-ne8ypy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339304/original/file-20200602-133875-ne8ypy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339304/original/file-20200602-133875-ne8ypy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339304/original/file-20200602-133875-ne8ypy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339304/original/file-20200602-133875-ne8ypy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339304/original/file-20200602-133875-ne8ypy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Patrick Soon-Shiong, a surgeon, businessman, media mogul and bioscientist, chairs three big nonprofits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/patrick-soon-shiong-president-of-nantworks-poses-during-the-news-photo/1028445566">Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139161/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hans Peter Schmitz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A careful review of more than 200 letters written by the wealthy people who signed the Giving Pledge over its first decade suggests a big contradiction.Hans Peter Schmitz, Associate Professor, University of San DiegoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1382412020-05-26T12:16:57Z2020-05-26T12:16:57ZWant to do more for your favorite charity? Consider a planned gift<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336568/original/file-20200520-152288-2a7qg5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=830%2C75%2C2317%2C1486&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Joan Kroc gave much to charity during her life and in her will after inheriting the McDonald's fortune.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Watchf-AP-A-PA-USA-APHS469527-Kroc-Names-New-Padres-President/5e6f377c8a234cbab8c595019fdf9132/99/0">AP Photo/Bill Cramer</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The coronavirus pandemic has led many Americans to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2017/jul/25/we-fear-death-but-what-if-dying-isnt-as-bad-as-we-think">consider their own mortality</a> and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/coronavirus-leads-surge-wills-thinking-mortality/story?id=69874540">plan for the future</a>.</p>
<p>One sign of this trend: the number of people using <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/25/coronavirus-pandemic-triggers-rush-by-americans-to-make-online-wills.html">will-writing websites</a> surged by as much as 200% in late March, when the vast majority of states ordered social distancing measures.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=tu70lmIAAAAJ">scholar of philanthropy who used to raise money for nonprofits</a>, I see an opportunity even at this difficult moment. Few Americans consider leaving money to charity when they declare who should inherit their assets after they die. </p>
<p>At the same time, many nonprofits face a <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/12/business/galas-postponed-or-going-virtual-nonprofits-see-big-drop-fund-raising-while-demand-services-rise/">dire situation</a> as a result of the pandemic. Demand for their services is growing while in many instances their revenue is plummeting. In the case of <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/12/business/galas-postponed-or-going-virtual-nonprofits-see-big-drop-fund-raising-while-demand-services-rise/">shuttered museums, symphonies and theaters</a>, they are also missing out on money from ticket sales that they need to survive.</p>
<h2>Few wills</h2>
<p>Only <a href="https://theconversation.com/68-of-americans-do-not-have-a-will-137686">32% of Americans have a will</a>, according to recent estimates, down from <a href="https://www.caring.com/caregivers/estate-planning/wills-survey">42% a few years ago</a>. </p>
<p>But the share of the population planning to leave money to charity is far smaller: only an estimated <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/rnja8c/charitable-bequest-demographics-33283226">5% of Americans</a>. This is a tiny sliver of the people who support nonprofits in a given year. According to a recent Gallup poll, some <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/310880/percentage-americans-donating-charity-new-low.aspx">73% of Americans</a> made a charitable donation to a religious institution or another charity last year.</p>
<p>The most common way to make what is technically called a “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/russalanprince/2016/07/05/what-is-planned-giving/#7018945548a9">planned gift</a>” is <a href="https://www.fidelitycharitable.org/guidance/philanthropy/what-are-bequests.html">a bequest</a> – a donation to a nonprofit noted in someone’s will. While the intention is expressed during the person’s lifetime, charities get the money or other assets after they’ve died.</p>
<p>Even though the numbers participating are small, bequest giving has quadrupled to nearly $40 billion annually over the past 40 years, according to the annual <a href="https://givingusa.org/giving-usa-2019-americans-gave-427-71-billion-to-charity-in-2018-amid-complex-year-for-charitable-giving/">Giving USA report</a>.</p>
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<p>That’s almost 10% of <a href="https://theconversation.com/american-giving-lost-some-ground-in-2018-amid-tax-changes-and-stock-market-losses-118892">all the money going to charity</a> each year. But I see plenty of room for growth.</p>
<p><iframe id="sn2iQ" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/sn2iQ/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Many ways to give</h2>
<p>Sometimes these donations <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/06/nyregion/secretary-fortune-donates.html">are unexpected</a>. But many donors prefer to <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-jerry-perenchio-lacma-michael-govan-news-conference-20141106-story.html">personally notify</a> the nonprofits they’ve selected. </p>
<p>It’s hard to get precise data on these gifts, because the IRS doesn’t collect it except from the estates of the wealthiest Americans.</p>
<p>There are other ways to leave money to charity after death besides bequest clauses in wills. All or part of an <a href="https://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/IRA">Individual Retirement Account</a>, or IRA, as well as 401(k)s and other employer-sponsored retirement plans can be left to charity. The same goes for <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/russalanprince/2016/07/05/what-is-planned-giving/#6b8c4a2648a9">many other kinds of assets</a>, including life insurance policies, trusts, real estate and tangible personal property, like artwork.</p>
<h2>A charitable opportunity</h2>
<p>My research shows that writing a will, especially when it calls for leaving money to a charity, actually <a href="https://givingusa.org/just-released-special-report-leaving-a-legacy-a-new-look-at-planned-giving-donors/">puts peoples’ minds at ease</a>. It’s a way people make meaning of their lives.</p>
<p>“I’ve been able to express my appreciation for the organization and my commitment to the cause beyond my time here,” is how one donor I’ll call Diane put it during our interview about her motivations for making a planned gift. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://givingusa.org/just-released-special-report-leaving-a-legacy-a-new-look-at-planned-giving-donors/">national study of planned gift donors</a> last year, my research team and I found that the average age for writing a first will is 44 years old and that over half of the donors surveyed for the study established their first planned gift at the same time as their first will.</p>
<p>For those who make gifts, it’s not a difficult process. A total of 68% of the 862 donors we surveyed said making their planned gift was “very” or “somewhat easy.”</p>
<h2>Not just for the 1%</h2>
<p>Many people think that writing a will is only for the very rich, but really <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-wills-arent-just-for-the-wealthy-2015-03-17">anyone with a family, home, or bank account should have one</a>. You don’t have to be very rich to make bequests. Some <a href="https://ssir.org/articles/entry/philanthropys_missing_trillions">middle class donors</a> write charitable gifts into their wills that exceed $100,000. </p>
<p>For many donors, planned giving enables them to make a larger gift after death than their finances would allow them to do during their life.</p>
<p>Based on my team’s research, we know that donors who make planned gifts are often long-time supporters, have worked or volunteered for the organization they’re supporting and believe in its mission. And because nearly 92% of the people we surveyed consulted an attorney when they wrote their will, it’s important that lawyers and financial planners at least raise the topic.</p>
<p>For nonprofits, estate gifts often come from those with long histories with the organization. On average, donors we surveyed had been supporting the organization that would receive their largest planned gift for 20 years.</p>
<p>The coronavirus pandemic and resulting financial crisis mean that <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-coronavirus-could-devastate-charities-even-more-than-the-great-recession-did-2020-04-07">many people will have more trouble than usual giving to charity</a>. I believe that when anyone drafts or revises their wills, it’s important that they discuss how to support causes they care about after their death with their lawyers and loved ones.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138241/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth J. Dale has received funding from The Giving USA Foundation for her planned giving research as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation via Indiana University and the Ford Foundation for other research on philanthropy. The views expressed in this essay are strictly my own and do not reflect policy stances of Seattle University or The Giving USA Foundation.</span></em></p>Far fewer Americans include plans for bequests to nonprofits in their wills than give to charity on a regular basis. The pandemic could be a good reason to change that.Elizabeth J. Dale, Assistant Professor of Nonprofit Leadership, Seattle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1376862020-05-19T12:13:23Z2020-05-19T12:13:23Z68% of Americans do not have a will<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333232/original/file-20200506-49558-1xb637r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">More and more states are allowing people to use Zoom to finish their wills.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/social-relations-at-covid19-social-distancing-times-royalty-free-image/1218176430?adppopup=true">LeoPatrizi/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=significant+figures">Significant Figures</a> is a series from The Conversation in which scholars explain an important number in the news.</em></p>
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<p>As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps through the country, more people may find themselves in <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=3572097">urgent need of an estate plan</a>.</p>
<p>But according to one recent survey, 68% of Americans <a href="https://www.caring.com/caregivers/estate-planning/wills-survey">do not have a will</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://law.rutgers.edu/bio/weisbord/cv">We are</a> <a href="https://law.ucdavis.edu/faculty/horton/">law professors</a> who teach and research trusts and estates. We <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3572097">recently studied</a> some of the estate planning impacts of the coronavirus and concluded that, in many states, the law is not prepared to address the sudden spike in demand for self-made wills.</p>
<h2>Dying without a will</h2>
<p>The downsides of dying “intestate” – without a will – are <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1978559">well documented</a>. Intestacy laws generally distribute property at death to <a href="https://estate.findlaw.com/planning-an-estate/understanding-intestacy-if-you-die-without-an-estate-plan.html">the surviving spouse or descendants</a>, a plan that is not necessarily suitable for unmarried couples and other nontraditional families. </p>
<p>To avoid intestacy, people may create a will by complying with the requirements of the “Wills Act,” law dating back to an <a href="https://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol5/pp839-842">English statute from 1677</a>. A person who creates a will, called a “testator,” must sign the will or acknowledge a previously made signature in front of two witnesses who are present at the same time. Then, <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26/section/9">the witnesses also must sign the will</a>. </p>
<p>Many states discourage people from writing their own wills by insisting on strict compliance with the Wills Act. For example, courts have refused to enforce documents that the testator apparently <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/west-virginia/supreme-court/2013/12-0365.html">forgot to sign</a>, instruments signed by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/24/nyregion/a-brownstone-and-the-bitter-fight-to-inherit-it.html">one witness instead of two</a> and documents signed by witnesses who only heard the testator acknowledge his signature <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2604102/matter-of-estate-of-mcgurrin/">over the telephone</a>. </p>
<p>Public health crises, like the current pandemic, pose additional obstacles. Stay-at-home orders and social distancing can make it impossible to find two witnesses, especially for people who are living alone.</p>
<p><a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/wyoming/supreme-court/1983/121177.html">Judges have historically required</a> witnesses to be physically present for the testator’s signature, so traditional law regards videoconferencing methods as nonstarters. </p>
<h2>Wills in the time of coronavirus</h2>
<p>Some American jurisdictions, however, have relaxed these formalities.</p>
<p>About <a href="https://info.legalzoom.com/article/states-where-holographic-wills-are-legal">half the states</a> – including California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia – allow testators to make holographic wills without witnesses. Instead, holographs must be entirely in the testator’s handwriting and signed by the testator. However, empirical research shows that handwritten wills are <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3476367">disputed in court more frequently</a> than formal wills drafted by an attorney. </p>
<p>Additionally, 11 states have adopted a reform known as <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a2b7/0fdddc251ba33f3ced259f85dbf0cb2c1af5.pdf">harmless error</a>. This rule allows a judge to enforce a writing that does not comply with the Wills Act if there is strong evidence that the testator intended it to be his or her will.</p>
<p>This safety valve reassures testators who lack access to professional advice that a minor misstep will not doom their estate planning efforts. <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3006710">Empirical evidence</a> suggests that the rule is not a major source of conflict or litigation.</p>
<p>However, because formal wills remain the only option in about half of the states, lawmakers have responded to the current pandemic by issuing <a href="https://www.actec.org/resources/emergency-remote-notarization-and-witnessing-orders/?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=ACTEC&_zs=jFpAX&_zl=JKd32">emergency orders</a> to permit remote witnessing by video communication.</p>
<p>These orders implement ideas from the <a href="https://www.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-home?communitykey=a0a16f19-97a8-4f86-afc1-b1c0e051fc71&tab=groupdetails">Uniform Electronic Wills Act</a>, model legislation introduced in 2019 but not yet adopted by any state. One of COVID-19’s lasting legacies might be bringing the law of wills into the 21st century, as states gain experience with electronic wills and ultimately enact permanent laws to permit them after the pandemic.</p>
<p>[<em>Insight, in your inbox each day.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=insight">You can get it with The Conversation’s email newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Dying without a will can cause all sorts of problems for families.Reid Kress Weisbord, Professor of Law and Judge Norma Shapiro Scholar, Rutgers University - NewarkDavid Horton, Professor of Law, University of California, DavisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1220292019-08-19T20:02:30Z2019-08-19T20:02:30ZRethink inheritances. These days they go to the already middle-aged<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288496/original/file-20190819-123745-1jimjf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=188%2C307%2C3299%2C1309&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Most inheritances go to middle-aged Australians who don't need help.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Inheritances can have an enormous impact on finances and lives. </p>
<p>Yet in Australia we know surprisingly little about who gets them and how big they are. </p>
<p>New <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/generation-gap/">Grattan Institute research</a> provides some answers.</p>
<h2>Inheritances are big and growing</h2>
<p>A sample of estates from Victoria’s probate office suggests the median estate in Victoria is worth around A$500,000. That’s likely to be close to what it is Australia-wide. </p>
<p>But many are much larger. About 20% are worth more than A$1 million, and 7% are more than A$2 million. Property is the largest component, accounting for about half of the average value. </p>
<p>The main beneficiaries of “final” estates (estates without a surviving spouse) are children, who receive about three-quarters of all inheritance money. </p>
<p>Other family members, such as nieces, nephews and grandchildren, receive about 20%. Friends get about 4%, and charities 2%.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-the-first-time-in-ages-were-setting-up-a-generation-to-be-worse-off-121983">For the first time in ages, we're setting up a generation to be worse off</a>
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<p>Average inheritances are growing about 2 percentage points faster than inflation each year, which is a good deal faster than wages or gross domestic product. </p>
<p>There are reasons to believe they will soon grow even faster. </p>
<p>Net wealth has grown strongly among older households. Households headed by people aged over 75 now have an average of A$1 million in assets, up from A$400,000 for a household headed by a person of the same age in 1994.</p>
<p>And most retirees <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/money-in-retirement/">don’t draw down</a> on their savings. </p>
<p>Indeed, many are net savers through much of their retirement, meaning there’s only one place their accumulated property and superannuation wealth can go: into bequests.</p>
<h2>Inheritances are going to the already old…</h2>
<p>These days, inheritances generally don’t arrive when people are saving for a house or trying to raise a young family. </p>
<p>More than 80% of money passed down from parents goes to people aged 50 and over.</p>
<p>The most common age bracket in which people to receive an inheritance from parents is 55-59. </p>
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<p>It’s the result of good news – parents are living longer. </p>
<p>But as life expectancy grows still further, it will mean inheritances increasingly supplement the retirement savings of middle-aged Australians rather than help young people get into housing.</p>
<h2>…and the already wealthy</h2>
<p>The wealthiest 20% of Australians get 38% of inheritance money; the poorest 20% get only 8%.</p>
<p>It means the growing wealth of Baby Boomers is likely to end up concentrated in the hands of a select group relatively well-off Generation Xers and Millennials rather than being widely spread.</p>
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<p>It will reinforce the advantages already enjoyed by people with well-off parents, including better schooling, better connections, and a greater ability to take financial risks because of a parental safety net. </p>
<p>If (as is possible) inheritances end up becoming the dominant route to wealth in Australia surpassing lifetime earnings, there will be less incentive for ordinary Australians to attempt to get ahead through individual endeavour. </p>
<p>We will have entered what French economist Thomas Piketty calls a “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/how-pikettys-inequality-theory-explains-mr-darcys-wealth">Jane Austen world</a>”.</p>
<h2>We don’t tax inheritances…</h2>
<p>Calm debate on policy setting around inheritances is <a href="https://insidestory.org.au/death-and-taxes/">hard to come by</a> in Australia.</p>
<p>Inheritances and gifts have been tax-free since the 1970s. </p>
<p>Australia is one of only <a href="https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=REV">seven</a> OECD countries without any inheritance, estate, or gift taxes. Despite the economic arguments for inheritance taxes, there seems to be little appetite to bring them back.</p>
<h2>…if anything, we subsidise them</h2>
<p>Not taxing inheritances is one thing, but actively subsidising them is another.</p>
<p>Superannuation tax breaks were intended to encourage people to save for their retirement and to take pressure off the age pension system. </p>
<p>But given that many retired Australians <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/money-in-retirement/">do not draw down on their capital</a>, a large part of the super tax concessions simply boosts the size of bequests.</p>
<p>Super death benefits tax is intended to claw back the superannuation tax breaks when the money is passed on, in order to ensure that the government doesn’t subsidise inheritances. </p>
<p>But, at 15%, the rate is too low to capture the value of the accumulated tax breaks. And it can easily be avoided by retirees withdrawing funds tax-free and then contributing them back as a post-tax contribution, which is tax-free when passed on.</p>
<p>The special treatment of the family home in the age pension means test also acts to boost inheritances at taxpayers’ expense. Without it there would less to pass on.</p>
<h2>It’s time to claw some of them back</h2>
<p>There is little justification for taxpayers subsidising inheritances. Policy changes could help.</p>
<p>We recommend a higher tax on super bequests paid to non-dependents to better capture the value of the super tax breaks that are passed on rather than used for retirement. The cap on post-tax super contributions should also be lowered, to limit the re-contribution strategies.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/house-prices-and-demographics-make-death-duties-an-idea-whose-time-has-come-114175">House prices and demographics make death duties an idea whose time has come</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>The age pension assets test should include part of the value of the family home, perhaps the part above A$500,000. Seniors with higher-value properties should be allowed to borrow against their home using the Pension Loans Scheme. </p>
<p>This would give them the ability to stay in their home but would mean that some of the wealth that would otherwise be passed to heirs (most likely in their 50s) would instead be used to fund them, taking pressure off the pension.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-policies-come-and-policies-go-but-surely-we-shouldnt-be-subsidising-inheritances-116415">Vital Signs: policies come and policies go, but surely we shouldn't be subsidising inheritances</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122029/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Grattan Institute began with contributions to its endowment of $15 million from each of the Federal and Victorian Governments, $4 million from BHP Billiton, and $1 million from NAB. In order to safeguard its independence, Grattan Institute’s board controls this endowment. The funds are invested and contribute to funding Grattan Institute's activities. Grattan Institute also receives funding from corporates, foundations, and individuals to support its general activities as disclosed on its website.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Danielle Wood does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Not only do we not tax inheritances, we actually subsidise them, making the already well off even better off.Owain Emslie, Senior Associate, Grattan InstituteDanielle Wood, Chief executive officer, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1166272019-06-05T19:35:24Z2019-06-05T19:35:24ZMy students see giving money away as a good thing but they’re getting leery of billionaire donors<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277741/original/file-20190603-69095-1pk9yfm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Michael Bloomberg, Robert F. Smith and MacKenzie Bezos are among the big givers making headlines.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Election-2020-Bloomberg/732115dbb5c34b3799d3e43d916f6290/3/0">AP Photo/Elise Amendola; Reuters/Lucy Nicholson; AP Photo/Dennis Van Tine</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Binghamton University students taking a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VYsdAEIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">philanthropy class I’ve been teaching</a> for years have made more than <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/public-administration/about/initiatives.html">US$150,000 in grants</a> to local charities since 2009. Because giving away money is a rewarding experience, the course has a long waitlist.</p>
<p>In 2019, I noticed that something had changed. The students began to wonder whether giving away money might not be all unicorns and rainbows, but – at least sometimes – a bad thing. After they made their grants to help immigrants, address the opioid epidemic and provide locally grown food to poor families, one student nonetheless wrote in her final paper, “There is a lot of negativity that surrounds philanthropy.”</p>
<p>It summed up a sentiment being voiced more often. After billionaire investor Robert F. Smith told the newly minted graduates of Morehouse College that he would pay off their student loans, many people <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/morehouse-grads-already-making-plans-pay-good-fortune-forward/fYyClfiEhZ3MX2BCwN2BrK/">cheered their commencement speaker’s generosity</a> and hailed the students’ good fortune. But others <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/20/opinion/morehouse-college-debt.html">eyed the move with skepticism</a>, seeing his philanthropy as just part of a broken system that enables a few to get too rich while millions face economic hardship.</p>
<p>A big debate over the value of philanthropy – whether it’s a force for good, a danger to society or somewhere between those extremes – is underway. It’s raising even bigger questions, like what it takes to build a better world and who gets to decide how to solve the toughest global problems. As a result, many, including my students, are becoming more critical regarding the <a href="https://givingpledge.org/">billions the world’s richest people give</a> away.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Social justice philanthropist Edgar Villanueva discussed his book ‘Decolonizing Wealth’ at the 2019 Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The critics</h2>
<p>Most critiques of philanthropy take aim at wealthy donors like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft’s Bill Gates and the tax system that makes it easier for them to amass great fortunes. Several recent books raise these issues, most prominently journalist Anand Giridharadas’ “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/539747/winners-take-all-by-anand-giridharadas/9780451493248/">Winners Take All</a>,” Stanford University political scientist Rob Reich’s “<a href="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/14186.html">Just Giving</a>,” foundation leader Edgar Villanueva’s “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/588996/decolonizing-wealth-by-edgar-villanueva/9781523097890/">Decolonizing Wealth</a>” and writer David Callahan’s “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/533633/the-givers-by-david-callahan/9781101971048/">The Givers</a>.” </p>
<p>While these four men don’t agree on everything, I see four common themes in their critiques.</p>
<p>First, philanthropy allows the wealthy, on their own, to decide how to fix the world’s biggest problems, like poverty and inadequate educational opportunities. This is a problem, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/opinion/philanthropy-minorities-charities.html">Villanueva argues</a>, because solving problems effectively requires working together with people you’re trying to help and understanding the challenges they face. </p>
<p>Second, they say a <a href="https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Give-Everyone-the-Same-Tax/245160">broken tax system unfairly subsidizes</a> wealthy donors compared to everyone else, giving them even more money to use in deciding how to eradicate disease or clean up the environment. Given how the tax code works, Jeff Bezos could receive a tax break of $390 million for every $1 billion he donates. In contrast, a middle-class donor who gives her local food bank $100 probably won’t get any tax benefit when she files her return. In effect, as Reich and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/20/opinion/jeff-bezos-bill-gates-philanthropy.html">Callahan point out</a>, the government helps the charities supported by the wealthiest donors more than those backed by the rest of us. As a remedy, Callahan has proposed limiting the <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-did-tcja-affect-incentives-charitable-giving">charitable tax deduction</a> now available to the wealthiest donors.</p>
<p>Third, mega-donors are to a degree interfering with democratic processes. Reich has called Bill Gates “<a href="https://crooked.com/podcast/trust-what-got-you-here/">America’s unelected school superintendent</a>” because of the millions of dollars the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has poured into school reform efforts. This giving means he may have more of a say in how local schools are run than do community residents, even though democracy operates on the principle that the people and their representatives should decide how to solve complex social problems.</p>
<p>Fourth, billionaires tend to favor causes that benefit or at least do not endanger their own bottom lines. <a href="https://twitter.com/anandwrites/status/1135545045384409094?s=11">Giridharadas observes</a> that despite Smith’s generosity to the Morehouse class of 2019, he has also <a href="https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2019/05/22/morehouse-robert-smith-college-debt-miles-howard">fought against changes to the tax code</a> that would have made more money available to help low-income students pay for college. On balance, his giving to political and charitable causes could be reinforcing the status quo and perpetuate income inequality. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Anand Giridharadas often voices his concerns about elite philanthropy, including in this CNBC interview.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The defenders</h2>
<p>Not so fast, say the philanthropic leaders who consider these criticisms overstated. </p>
<p>The most high-profile of the defenders these days is Phil Buchanan, CEO of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, which researches how foundations operate, sponsors conferences and helps grantmakers assess their own performance. In his new book “<a href="https://cep.org/giving-done-right/">Giving Done Right</a>,” Buchanan agreed with the critics about some of the sector’s flaws. But he also argues that they <a href="https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Critiques-of-Philanthropy-Are/246338?cid=cpfd_home">have gone too far</a> when they dismiss Smith’s gift to Morehouse students as a stunt. </p>
<p>The defenders of big-bucks philanthropy note that wealthy donors and foundations are making a real difference. Bill and Melinda Gates, for example, have “saved millions of lives,” as <a href="https://twitter.com/KelseyTuoc/status/1133761314902331392">Kelsey Piper</a>, a Vox staff writer who covers animal welfare, global poverty and philanthropy, recently tweeted.</p>
<p>They also note that philanthropy and the charities it funds have long been a staple of the <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/06/01/the_assault_on_generosity_and_voluntary_action_140452.html">American approach to problem-solving</a>. They have protected children, housed the homeless and supported the arts, among other things. The critics, they contend, are downplaying the important role private giving – and volunteering – play in a country where the nonprofit sector accounts for about <a href="https://nccs.urban.org/publication/nonprofit-sector-brief-2018#the-nonprofit-sector-in-brief-2018-public-charites-giving-and-volunteering">5% of the economy</a> and <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/nonprofits-account-for-12-3-million-jobs-10-2-percent-of-private-sector-employment-in-2016.htm?view_full">10% of the workforce</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, they say critics like Giridharadas are simply unrealistic. They advocate for a wholesale reform of the tax system, philanthropy and government’s role in solving big problems. But Buchanan sees big reforms as unlikely, at best. And, <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/5/27/18635923/philanthropy-change-the-world-charity-phil-buchanan">he worries</a>, these criticisms could lead wealthy donors to move away from giving. In the meantime, he says, “<a href="https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Critiques-of-Philanthropy-Are/246338?cid=cpfd_home">but, here we are, with wealthy people who want to give back</a>,” arguing that you have to work with the world as it is, not the world you might prefer.</p>
<p>Finally, while these defenders of philanthropy are likely to admit some reforms are necessary, they see more good than bad. They want to see elite philanthropy improved and expanded, not restrained. Hewlett Foundation president <a href="https://hewlett.org/people/larry-kramer/">Larry Kramer</a> notes that it is important to “<a href="https://hewlett.org/listening-with-empathy/">listen to those who think we are wrong</a>,” and “engage our critics’ best arguments.”</p>
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<h2>Making sense of it all</h2>
<p>The 32 students who took my class this spring enrolled because they were excited by the opportunity to use philanthropy as a way to make a difference in the local community. The grants they made achieved that goal. But, they also learned that giving is more complicated than it looks. Using private money to solve public problems raises hard questions that are worth struggling over. </p>
<p>For students or anyone else trying to make sense of this debate, I suggest deciding whether you feel like philanthropy’s problems can be solved. If you do, work within the system and try to make it better. If you don’t, join forces with others aiming to bring about more fundamental change.</p>
<p><em>Editor’s note: The Gates Foundation is a funder of The Conversation Media Group.</em></p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors. You can</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">read us daily by signing up for our newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116627/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Campbell receives funding from the Learning by Giving Foundation to support his philanthropy class. He serves on the board of the Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation. </span></em></p>As the debate over what ails philanthropy heats up, the questions are going beyond whether massive charitable donations help or hurt society.David Campbell, Associate Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1031142018-09-12T13:20:23Z2018-09-12T13:20:23ZAnthill 29: Inheritance<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235990/original/file-20180912-133901-1qnyrtv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C31%2C1000%2C881&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gennadiy Solovyev/Shutterstock.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What do we pass onto the next generation when we’re gone? In this episode of The Anthill podcast we bring you three stories from academics who study aspects of inheritance – from inherited wealth, to the natural inheritance we leave our children, and the genetic inheritance held within our DNA. </p>
<p>The way countries tax inherited wealth varies widely across the world. In the UK, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax">inheritance tax</a> is 40% on everything above a £375,000 threshold (for properties the threshold rises to £1m), yet it doesn’t exist in Australia and Canada and works differently in France and Scandinavia. In this episode, Janette Rutterford, professor of financial management at Open University, tracks the history of inheritance tax in the UK – and the loopholes people use to get around paying it. And we ask Danny Dorling, Halford Mackinder professor of geography at the University of Oxford whether inheritance tax is fit for purpose – and what could replace it. </p>
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<p><strong><em>Click <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/podcasts/the-anthill">here</a> to listen to more episodes of The Anthill, on themes including <a href="https://theconversation.com/anthill-26-twins-98271">Twins</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/anthill-25-intuition-96677">Intuition</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/anthill-27-confidence-100183">Confidence</a>. And browse <a href="https://theconversation.com/podcasts">other podcasts</a> from The Conversation here.</em></strong> </p>
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<p>In the second segment, we focus on natural inheritance. Mass extinctions of species mean that the wildlife our ancestors grew up with is vanishing and it may mean future generations are left with a smaller and emptier view of nature. Scientists believe our perception of nature and wilderness is shrinking, with each new generation inheriting a smaller picture of what a healthy ecosystem looks like. We ask biologists Lizzie Jones from Royal Holloway University and Chris Sandom from the University of Sussex to help explain the concept of this “shifting baseline syndrome”. And Newcastle University’s Niki Rust talks through one of the options for dealing with it – <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/rewilding-7773">rewilding</a>, and what happened to lions she observed who had been reintroduced into reserves in Africa. </p>
<p>Sandom and Jones have also written an accompanying article for The Conversation, showcasing <a href="https://theconversation.com/forget-environmental-doom-and-gloom-young-people-draw-alternative-visions-of-natures-future-102004">drawings by young people</a> of alternative visions for nature’s future – and graphic imaginings by the artist Daniel Locke on what Britain would have looked like hundreds of thousands of years ago.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235767/original/file-20180911-144458-1hbdyi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235767/original/file-20180911-144458-1hbdyi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235767/original/file-20180911-144458-1hbdyi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235767/original/file-20180911-144458-1hbdyi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235767/original/file-20180911-144458-1hbdyi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235767/original/file-20180911-144458-1hbdyi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235767/original/file-20180911-144458-1hbdyi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235767/original/file-20180911-144458-1hbdyi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Britain 125,000 years ago: giant deer, straight-tusked elephants and rhinos.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.daniellocke.com/">Daniel Locke</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>In the final segment of this episode we delve into the debate on genes and intelligence – and whether children’s success at school depends on their DNA. Kaili Rimfeld, a postdoctoral researcher at King’s College London, explains her new study – <a href="https://theconversation.com/genes-shown-to-influence-how-well-children-do-throughout-their-time-at-school-102520">which you can read about on The Conversation</a> – which showed that genes influence how well children do throughout their time at school. She explains how twins studies have helped scientists to understand the “heritability” of intelligence, as well as <a href="https://theconversation.com/your-genes-can-help-predict-how-well-youll-do-in-school-heres-how-we-cracked-it-62848">new tools</a>, which are helping give more personalised predictions for educational achievement. </p>
<p>But some social scientists, including as Daphne Martschenko, a PhD researcher in education at the University of Cambridge, are concerned about the ethical implications of this line of research. She recounts the controversial history of research linking genes and intelligence – which she’s just written <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/74b8m/">a new paper</a> about – and why she’s concerned about how such research might trickle down into the classroom in future. </p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-anthill/id1114423002?mt=2"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233721/original/file-20180827-75984-1gfuvlr.png" alt="Listen on Apple Podcasts" width="268" height="68"></a> <a href="https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVjb252ZXJzYXRpb24uY29tL3VrL3BvZGNhc3RzL3RoZS1hbnRoaWxsLnJzcw%3D%3D"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233720/original/file-20180827-75978-3mdxcf.png" alt="" width="268" height="68"></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-conversation/the-anthill"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233716/original/file-20180827-75981-pdp50i.png" alt="Stitcher" width="300" height="88"></a> <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/The-Anthill-p877873/"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233723/original/file-20180827-75984-f0y2gb.png" alt="Listen on TuneIn" width="318" height="125"></a></p>
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<p><em>The Anthill theme music is by Alex Grey for Melody Loops.
Music in the inheritance tax segment <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/The_Big_Loop_-_FML_original_podcast_score/Lee_Rosevere_-_The_Big_Loop_-_FML_original_podcast_score_-_10_A_List_of_Ways_to_Die">A list of ways to die</a> by Lee Rosevere and <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/A_A_Aalto/Fest/Bazaar">Bazaar</a> by A.A.Alto, both from the Free Music Archive. Bird sounds in the shifting baseline segment is <a href="https://freesound.org/people/reinsamba/">Nightingales</a> by reinsamba and music is <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/">Nature Kid</a> by Podington Bear via Free Music Archive. Music in the genes and intelligence segment is <a href="https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1200102">Hidden Agenda</a> by Kevin MacLeod via Incompetech and <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai_Engel/The_Scope/Kai_Engel_-_The_Scope_-_02_Cutrains_are_Always_Drawn">Curtains Are Always Drawn</a> by Kai Engel. Archive audio on the Human Genome Project from the <a href="https://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?Live=2405&bhcp=1">US Department of Health & Human Services</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Thank you to City, University of London’s Department of Journalism for letting us use their studios to record The Anthill. And to Anouk Millet who helped with editing and production for this episode.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
From wealth, to the natural world, to genes and intelligence, a podcast exploring the theme of inheritance.Will de Freitas, Environment + Energy Editor, UK editionAnnabel Bligh, Business & Economy Editor and Podcast Producer, The Conversation UKGemma Ware, Head of AudioJack Marley, Environment + Energy Editor, UK editionLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1023242018-08-30T21:53:08Z2018-08-30T21:53:08ZShould Canada have an inheritance tax?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233984/original/file-20180828-86123-bgx6ta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Should wealthy Canadians pay an inheritance tax? In this photo from 2002, David Thomson listens during the annual meeting of Thomson Corp. The Thomsons are considered Canada's richest family.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(CP PHOTO/Aaron Harris)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the added advantages of being born into a wealthy family in Canada is that neither you nor your progeny have to pay an inheritance tax. That’s because Canada is the only G7 country that doesn’t tax estates or wealth handed down from one generation to another (aside from small probate fees in some provinces). But a <a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/born-win">new report says that should change</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/">Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives</a>, in its report called “Born to Win,” says a Canadian inheritance tax “could go a long way to curbing the tendency of Canada’s tax system to heighten socially, politically and economically harmful levels of wealth concentration in Canada.”</p>
<p>It noted the average net worth of Canada’s 87 wealthiest families rose by 37 per cent between 2012 and 2016 — from $2.2 billion to $3.0 billion — while the net worth of middle class families increased by only 16 per cent (from $264,000 to $305,000) over the same period. </p>
<h2>Skewing the playing field</h2>
<p>The report’s recommendations are inherently linked to the maintenance of inequality from one generation over the other — a skewing of the playing field of life from the start.</p>
<p>Should our laws focus on promoting equality of opportunity and social justice or the individual freedom to bequeath and right to dispose of one’s property? </p>
<p>Debates on this issue are not new. Ideas about restricting or abolishing inheritance have been floated by Western social thinkers for nearly 300 years and probably more.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233988/original/file-20180828-86150-afy24c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233988/original/file-20180828-86150-afy24c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233988/original/file-20180828-86150-afy24c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233988/original/file-20180828-86150-afy24c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233988/original/file-20180828-86150-afy24c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233988/original/file-20180828-86150-afy24c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233988/original/file-20180828-86150-afy24c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The rates of estate, inheritance or gift taxes in G7 countries (2017)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Born to Win, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/montesquieu/">Charles de Montesquieu</a>, the 18th century French philosopher who inherited a large estate and fortune from one of his uncles, remarked that “natural law commands to fathers to feed their children, but does not oblige them to make them their heirs.”</p>
<p>Clearly, the author of the <em><a href="https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/montesquieu/spiritoflaws.pdf">Spirit of the Law</a></em> (1748) squarely sided with the view that inheritance laws are appropriate for society to maintain an equilibrium.</p>
<h2>Reducing inequity</h2>
<p>Another French philosopher, <a href="https://www.iep.utm.edu/rousseau/">Jean-Jacques Rousseau</a>, went further in his egalitarian view. While inequality is unavoidable, he argued, placing limits on the inheritance of wealth is necessary for society. Rousseau believed legislators not only can, but also must, regulate the intergenerational transfer of wealth through laws in a manner that reduces social inequality in society.</p>
<p>During the tumultuous French Revolutionary period of 1789-1799, the <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=gP1X2qbLffIC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=Mirabeau+Honor%C3%A9+Gabriel+Riqueti+.+1763.+La+philosophie+rurale+ou+%C3%A9conomie+g%C3%A9n%C3%A9rale+et+politique+de+l%27agriculture+r%C3%A9duite+%C3%A0+l%27ordre+immuable+des+loix+physiques+&ots=crRPIq1z7B&sig=Jx4Zsl6CILET6kJGdj2P4zNciZY&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false">Count of Mirabeau</a> went even further, saying passing on wealth from one generation to another promotes “inequality in the ownership of domestic goods.” According to Mirabeau, property was to be limited to a lifetime and then reverted to the state upon a person’s death.</p>
<p>In the late 19th century, <a href="https://www.iep.utm.edu/durkheim/">Emile Durkheim</a>, considered one of the fathers of sociology, proposed the discontinuance of inheritance, which he considered an archaic and even immoral practice.</p>
<p>Durkheim believed the surplus from one generation to another should not revert to the state, but instead should be used to form social institutions (akin to today’s professional guilds) that would manage and redistribute the wealth. </p>
<h2>When ‘tax’ is a dirty word</h2>
<p>In the current socio-political atmosphere where “tax” is a dirty word that politicians avoid pronouncing as much as possible, it is unlikely we will see any significant legislative reforms to include an inheritance tax in Canada.</p>
<p>In the meantime, those of us who care about this problem still have a solution.</p>
<p>It is possible for each of us to privately dispose of our wealth by including charities as beneficiaries in our will — in the hope that such institutions will be able to contribute to correcting social inequalities in the future instead of reproducing them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102324/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luc Theriault received funding from SSHRC, various universities and some fundations. He is affiliated with UNB, the Association for Nonprofit and Social Economy Research (ANSER), and the Journal for Co-operative Studies. </span></em></p>Canada is the only G7 country that doesn’t have an inheritance tax. A new report says that should change. The idea of sharing the wealth from one generation to another is not new.Luc Theriault, Professor of Sociology, University of New BrunswickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.