CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

In this presentation I explain why the right to bequeath should be considered a basic liberty within John Rawls' scheme of justice. I begin by addressing our intuitions about the permissibility of bequest. I then elaborate on the foundations of Rawls' theory and explore how this right can be included in the basic right to personal property. The interest protected by the economic right to bequeath is that of being partial. I conclude by establishing that the freedom to bequeath has a central range of application but that outside that range it can be restricted based on the demands of other principles of justice.