Originally posted by twhitehead
In reality, a capitalist system usually results in some people having inherited wealth, and not all 'labour' is equal.
I'm in the middle of reading Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century. He makes the point in the second chapter, that demographic growth has a great deal of input into how much inherited wealth effects income distribution.
Of course demographic growth has to do primarily with birth rates vs. deaths, as well as longevity. With large families, inherited wealth is less of a factor, simply because inheritances are divided into more, smaller slices. As birth rates diminish, in most Western countries to 1.5 or fewer, inherited wealth becomes more of a factor, although even then the previous generation's skill and ingenuity is not necessarily equaled by the following one. The two most fabulously wealthy Americans Gates and Buffet are adamant that they will not directly pass their wealth along to their children.
To be sure those kids are advantaged by their parents, but why not? Don't all parents want to help their kids succeed? But nobody can guarantee it.