Inherited virtue
Sir: Irwin Stelzer (Listen to Adam Smith: inheritance tax is good', 20 October) suggests that inheritance tax is a good thing economically because the absence of inheritance encourages people to work and makes them less likely to retire. I find this a surprising proposition from a supposedly conservative journal. The great benefit of inheritance is that it creates a class who are independent and do not have to 'stay in line' to support themselves and their families. Before the war there were a large number of MPs who were financially independent by reason of inheritance and thus MPs were far more ready to speak up for the public interest than the present salariat dependent upon keeping in with the Whips to pay their mortgages.
Adrian JG. Pellman by email
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