"in the interest of fairness."

How exactly is "fairness" defined? I see that word used in discussions of social matters ("fair-trade coffee", "fair wages", "fair share of taxes") and it's assumed that everyone is just going to have the same idea of "fair" (or not bothering analyzing what the word is supposed to mean in the given context), and think, hey, *fair", who could be against that? People use it, but no one defines it.

It's like asking someone if they like good food or good movies without making clear whose taste is deciding things.

The only interesting argument I've seen that argued against inheritance asserted that once a person was dead they were no longer able to make any claim on the money, nor was there any person from whom that money could be taken; there's no owner; they simply not exist. Decisions made about property while still alive had no bearing; when you're dead, you're out of the picture. (It seems to avoid the whole issue of "fairness", too.)

What wasn't explained to me was how one goes from that idea to it being OK then for the State to come and just take the wealth left behind.