Inherited Privilege vs. Meritocracy: Are We Really Born Equal?
Jan-Marten Veddeler
This course encourages you to reflect on your own privileges in the context of equality of opportunity, social mobility, and inheritance. It explores how inherited wealth and other forms of inherited privilege perpetuates inequality and how this affects social mobility and meritocracy. The course will analyse if inheritance is compatible with our constitutional foundations of freedom and equality. Using global comparisons and real-world data, students will critically analyse policy solutions aimed at creating more equitable societies, such as inheritance taxation and a universal basic inheritance.
Jan-Marten Veddeler
UW/H almnus. Co-Founder Learning Lions, social business in Kenya around IT education and Fair Trade digital job creation. Initatior of startequal.org - platform advocating for equal opportunities through inheritance taxation. Finance and IT Consultant - currently mainly around the open source ERP system Odoo. Berlin-based.
E-Mail: jm.veddeler@gmail.com
Was muss ich mitbringen?
Interest in the topic should be enough. Existing thoughts, ideas or experiences on the subject of inheritance, privilege and social mobility can be brought along.
Wie werden wir lernen?
- 2 essays:
o 1 pior to seminar: reflection on (own) privileges
o 1 post-seminar: proposal & discussion for privilege-adjusted evaluation format for seminar
- Mix of input/presentation of key data/ concepts and discussion based on readings, presentation and impulses from the students
- Prior readings of selected literature on social mobility, equality of opportunity and inheritance
Ziel der Veranstaltung
privilege-awareness
Max. Teilnehmendenzahl
25