西方经济学财富分配思想演变及对当下的启示

The Evolution of Wealth Distribution Thought in Western Economics and Its Enlightenment to the Present

20世纪西方各国的财富不平等呈现出先下降、后上升的态势。近30年来,中国财富不平等的上升速度非常快,且不平等程度目前已经较严重,必须予以高度重视。中世纪经院学者及其后自然法学家关于财富分配的思想可概括为“私有财产权+必需品权利”。从斯密到穆勒,古典经济学解决财富分配问题的根本思路转变为“私有财产权+财富再分配”,并一直延续至今。为减少财富不平等,当前中国应加快开征财产税、遗产税、赠予税等税种,并采取累进税形式。同时,要坚决扭转财税体制的“反向再分配”效应,将税制结构从间接税为主转为直接税为主,并加大对财产性收入的征税力度。

In the 20 th century, wealth inequality in Western countries displayed the tendency declining initially and then followed by rising up. The rate of increase in wealth inequality in China in the past 30 years kept growing very fast and is becoming seriously unequal now. Great importance, hence, must be attached to it. Medieval scholastics and later natural jurists’ thoughts on wealth distribution can be summarized as "private property rights plus necessities rights". From Adam Smith to John Mueller, the basic idea of classical economics to solve the problem of wealth distribution changed to "private property rights plus wealth redistribution", which continues to this day. To reduce wealth inequality, China should speed up the collection of taxes such as property tax, inheritance tax, gift tax, and adopt progressive taxation. Moreover, we must resolutely reverse the reverse redistribution effect of the fiscal and taxation system. The structure of the tax system should be shifted from indirect taxes to direct taxes, and the taxation of property income should also be increased.