Birth...wrong?

Isaac and Rebekah were married and Rebekah, after asking God for a little help, conceived twins who fought in the womb. God explained that this was because they were two nations. Post-womb, Esau was the first of the twins to come out, followed by Jacob, who was holding on to Esau's heel.

Esau became a hunter while Jacob became a farmer. One day, Esau came to Jacob after a tough day, tired and hungry. Esau asked Jacob for the red soup Jacob had prepared, and Jacob demanded that Esau promise Jacob his birthright as eldest son in return for the soup. Esau did so, thus demonstrating how little he cared about his birthright.

Birthrights are a really tough issue, in my view. On one hand, I think parents have the right to work to advance the status of their children, and that they should be able to use their resources to help their kids. But on the other hand, children have done nothing to earn their particular situations. As an American white male born to educated, upper/middle class parents, I've benefited immensely from circumstances resulting from pure chance. That may not be inherently troubling, but had I been born into a really tough situation, the injustice would be even clearer.

I don't know the answer to this question--is inheritance just? The policy implications are significant--private education, estate taxes, social welfare, immigration, etc.--so the question is important. I think at a base level, my birthright--that which is owed to me--should be the same as the birthright of any other human being, which I'd likely term human rights. But given my particular status and situation, my birthright exceeds that minimum threshold in social, economic, and legal terms, but likely not in moral ones.

There's been loads of work done on this issue, and I've not read much of it, but Rawls' theories of justice--especially veil of ignorance--seem relevant. General lottery of birth info, though limited, is available here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lottery_of_birth

One of a number of thought provoking ads available on this site (source): http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2011/lottery-of-life/

Also, let's avoid the use of the term "first world problems." Here's why: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/11/whats-wrong-with-firstworldproblems/248829/