The Estate Tax: A Conservative Case for Meritocracy and Opportunity

In a nation founded on individual liberty and free markets, it’s striking that some of America’s fiercest patriots and most successful capitalists—Thomas Paine, Andrew Carnegie, Theodore Roosevelt, and Warren Buffett—championed the federal estate tax. Far from a “death tax,” they saw it as a guardrail against dynastic power, preserving the meritocracy and equal opportunity that conservatives hold dear. Their insights challenge skeptics, particularly Republicans, to reconsider the estate tax as a tool for fairness, not punishment.

The burden of proof lies with proponents, as taxes are rarely welcomed. Yet, these figures make a case rooted in conservative principles: preventing aristocracy, fostering self-reliance, and ensuring market competition.

Thomas Paine: A Revolutionary Against Aristocracy

Thomas Paine, whose 1776 pamphlet Common Sense sold 150,000 copies and fueled America’s break from Britain, was a revolutionary hero revered by conservatives for his defense of liberty. His critique of hereditary government—“All hereditary government is in its nature tyranny”—resonates with Republican disdain for unearned power. Paine called hereditary succession “an absurdity,” arguing that wisdom cannot be inherited, and warned that it shackles future generations.

Later, Paine applied this logic to inherited economic power. Despite his distrust of government and taxes—and his support for rebellions like the Boston Tea Party—he proposed an inheritance tax in The Rights of Man and Agrarian Justice to correct the unequal distribution of land. For Paine, the Earth was “the common property of the human race,” and dynastic wealth created “a permanent aristocracy of the dead over the living.” His solution: an inheritance tax to fund (1) a £15 payment to every 21-year-old to restore their “natural inheritance,” and (2) a £10 annual pension for those over 50. This was not redistribution—it was a conservative defense of equal starting points for each generation.

Andrew Carnegie: Wealth as a Public Trust

Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, a paragon of capitalist success, argued in The Gospel of Wealth (1889) that vast inherited fortunes foster dependency, not drive. He warned: “The parent who leaves his son enormous wealth generally deadens the talents and energies of the son.” For Carnegie, the estate tax was “the most legitimate of all taxes,” ensuring wealth served society rather than entrenching dynasties.

This logic mirrors conservative critiques of government dependency: the estate tax encourages self-reliance, incentivizes philanthropy, and keeps private power accountable—without expanding government bureaucracy.

Theodore Roosevelt: A Republican for Equal Opportunity

Republican President Theodore Roosevelt warned that “the transmission of enormous fortunes from generation to generation” posed a grave risk to democracy. In 1906, he proposed a graduated inheritance tax to dismantle concentrated wealth—not to penalize success, but to preserve equal opportunity and prevent the rise of an economic aristocracy.

Roosevelt, a defender of vigorous capitalism, understood that unearned wealth can distort markets and restrict freedom, echoing today’s conservative concern over cronyism and monopolistic privilege.

Warren Buffett: Meritocracy Over Dynasty

Billionaire Warren Buffett, a self-made icon, believes that dynastic wealth undermines meritocracy. “I’ll pay lower taxes than my secretary if we scrap the estate tax. That’s not fair—it’s aristocracy,” he has said.

Buffett supports a strong estate tax and has pledged most of his fortune to philanthropy, arguing that success should be earned, not inherited. His stance aligns with conservative calls for fairness and market-driven competition over hereditary advantage.

Addressing Conservative Concerns

• Myth: “It hurts family farms and businesses.”
  Fact: Over 99.9% of estates owe nothing. The $13.6 million per-person exemption (as of 2025) protects nearly all family farms and small businesses.

• Myth: “It’s double taxation.”
  Fact: Much inherited wealth, particularly unrealized capital gains, has never been taxed at all.

• Fiscal Responsibility: The estate tax generates over $20 billion annually, helping reduce deficits without raising taxes on work, savings, or consumption—a policy move fiscal conservatives should welcome.

A Conservative Compromise

The estate tax is not about class warfare—it’s about preserving competition and checking economic monopolies. It protects free markets from being overtaken by entrenched, unearned wealth. As Paine argued, “Every generation must govern itself.” The estate tax ensures that no generation is permanently beholden to the fortunes—or misfortunes—of those who came before.

Conclusion: An American Principle

Paine, Carnegie, Roosevelt, and Buffett remind us that the estate tax is not un-American—it’s foundationally American. It aligns with our deepest values: earned success, personal responsibility, and freedom from inherited power.

For Republicans, it offers a fiscally responsible, constitutionally sound way to prevent aristocracy, strengthen capitalism, and ensure that the American Dream remains open to all—not just the heirs of the ultra-wealthy.