France has once again become a society of privilege, and we are beginning to measure the consequences everywhere: a feeling of political alienation, the rise of the extreme right, brain drain. Those with talent but who do not wish to remain in a society where they are not “well-born” exile themselves from a psychodrama with feudal overtones, in search of upward social mobility abroad. There is also a bonus to intrigue: since hard work is not rewarded, it becomes more effective to be “well in court” to access enviable positions.
The fight against climate change also suffers from this situation: as long as the privileged – the most emitters of CO2 – do not set an example, the middle and working classes are turning away from the efforts requested: the crisis of “yellow vests” or the controversies around private jets and SUVs testify to this tension. The failure of the social ladder feeds the resentment of the most precarious, and, therefore, the desire of illegitimate elites to impose an authoritarian framework.
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This deterioration of the social bond should not be a surprise. Many studies have been warning for several years about the return of inequalities in France. We thus know thanks to INSEE (2019) that the wealthiest 10% own almost half of the total assets there, and the Economic Analysis Council (CAE) precise that the share of inherited wealth now represents 60% of this heritage, compared to 35% at the beginning of the 1970s. The Financial Times confirms that 80% of French billionaires have inherited their fortune, gold medals from a heartbreaking ranking. According to the CAE, when less than one French person in ten inherits more than 500,000 euros in assets during their lifetime, 50% of individuals inherit less than 70,000 euros in assets; among these, a large fraction inherit nothing.
Of the works recent studies by researchers Gustave Kenedi and Louis Sirugue reveal that children born to parents in the top 20% of incomes are almost four times more likely to reach this same quintile in adulthood than those born to parents in the lowest 20%. If the geographical region or the environment affect these results, the finding is no less overwhelming.
Inheritance inequalities
Paris is no longer the “landing of wills” once praised by the (poor) poet Blaise Cendrars. Rentiers keep control of a square meter at more than 10,000 euros. This “gentrification” has resulted in a concentration of educational opportunities and economic opportunities. It dissuades small purses from coming to try their luck there. If an intrepid soul emerges from the lot, no one would be surprised to see it shipwrecked on the reef of practices indulged in by certain elites to keep the seraglio watertight.
The situation is likely to worsen with demographics. France Strategy warns that with the arrival at the ages of death, around 2030, of baby boomers who are better off and who have had fewer children than previous generations, destinies will depend even more on the size of the inheritances received: those who will inherit, will inherit a lot, widening the gap with the others.
If France maintains a low poverty rate, thanks to a significant redistributive system, the engine of social mobility has stalled. In a major moral philosophy essay (1), Yale professor Samuel Moyn notes that the correct consideration of basic needs does not prevent the maintenance of huge hierarchies and can even result in a fracture of society in two groups, “the rich dominating their economic inferiors”.
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This secession has already taken place with us. According to the CAE, the top 1% of heirs can now obtain, simply by living as an annuitant, a higher standard of living than that obtained by the top 1% of ” workers “. To reach the very top of the distribution of living standards, “it becomes almost imperative to have the chance to inherit”. However, this summit also houses the power to influence politicians.
What every parent, outside of well-to-do backgrounds, tells their school-going child: “Work hard and you can get to the top” no longer corresponds to reality. It would now seem more appropriate to say: “Study hard and you can work for an heir. » And it makes sense that our modern social contract, built on a promise of social mobility, is falling apart.
This dynamic comes from afar. But to curb this return to income and privileges that discourage work, talent and innovation and to rebuild a peaceful society, it becomes crucial to reform inheritance and gift taxes in the direction of equity. Without slowing down growth (2), this would generate resources for public action. We could also experiment with the distribution of “starting capital” enabling disadvantaged young people to finance their studies, create a business or acquire property. This would rebalance ultimately the equal opportunity board. In the meantime – one can always dream – of one day opening the seraglio to those who are not born well.
ORGANIC EXPRESS
Local elected official and essayist, Niels Planel is the author of “Where the Republic Perishes” (published by Aube, 2022).
(1) “Not Enough – Human Rights in an Unequal World”, Samuel Moyn, Belknap/Harvard, 2018, p. 4 (untranslated).[2] As economists Jeffrey G. Williamson and Peter Lindert put it: “The historical experience of major industrialized countries provides no evidence that higher inheritance taxes or, for that matter, higher marginal tax rates on the highest estates have slowed GDP growth. » See “Unequal Gains: American Growth and Inequality since 1700”, Princeton, 2016, p. 260 (untranslated).
