Question

Outline the arguments for and against reparations for the slave trade and slavery.

Answer 1

State reparations are a little more difficult but represent the support of the Government for the slavery system and its effect on black communities. Slavery continued in part because the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom made money from the slave trade and the 'free' labor it offered, and so permitted it to continue long after calls for it to stop.

Caricom, the Caribbean Reparations Committee, continues to call for reparations for slavery to address the harm caused to Caribbean communities and the crimes against humanity which are endemic to slave trade. On a 2015 visit to Jamaica, however, former Prime Minister David Cameron replied to calls from Jamaica's parliament for reparations by telling them to 'move on' and 'start building for the future.'

Yet injustice continues to be felt in the Caribbean and access to the riches accessible to white Caribbean people as well as the privilege of the tourist industry on the islands and the development of capital continues to be denied to significant parts of the black and indigenous community, who are potentially excluded from the advantages of the island economies made possible by slavery and the prosperity made available to Britain by its slave plantations.

Besides the legal arguments there is also a moral argument for reparations. Slavery is a mistake inflicted on people because of a belief in their inferiority, and a perception that they are fit to exist only within certain areas of society. Reparations offer a concrete way of acknowledging that such behavior is false and detrimental, and explicitly declaring that it has no place in contemporary culture.

While an apology for the harm caused by the slave trade is welcome, the gesture of reparations provides a means of giving something back to communities and nations who most felt its effects.

Any legal argument for reparations for the slave trade must be focused on the enduring effects of the slavery legacy that continues to impact those who live today. Reparations should not necessarily be limited to the offspring of those enslaved on one continent or the offspring of that continent; Any demand for reparations for slavery, unless excluded, will include the continuing traces of slavery.What, for example, distinguishes African slavery from the slavery in South America? Reparations should be seen as a part of the honest acceptance of the past and of accepting moral and legal responsibility.

Reparations are a restitution form: the return of unjust enrichment to the detriment of others. They aren't really motivated by human culpability; rather by social public guilt. There has to be a distinction between guilt and shame. Guilt is an immobilizing emotion that causes people to feel guilty when doing nothing; guilt is not and does not need to be linked to human feelings of obligation.

But support for reparations today remains largely divided along racial lines. A 2016 Marist poll found 58% of black Americans were in favour of reparations, while 81% of white Americans opposed the idea. A 2018 Data for Progress survey also found reparations to be unpopular among the general public, and especially so among white Americans. Some of the major arguments given against the reparations are mentioned above

Today, black slaves do not live. Slavery began at the expense of several hundred thousand lives lost in the Civil War, more than 160 years ago. It is unfair to ask American taxpayers to pay for the wrongs of slavery, many of them from families that came to the United States after slavery ended.

The problems faced by African Americans today are not the "legacy of slavery" or even racism. In American society many blacks have succeeded very well. Poor African Americans' challenges are exacerbated by inner-city socioeconomic ills such as family breakdowns, high crime rates and welfare dependency.

Federal and state governments have already spent billions of dollars on social programs such as welfare, housing subsidies, health care, job development, affirmative action, and education. African Americans have benefited from those programs.

African Americans, especially young people, need to solve their problems by their own efforts and not rely on more government handouts and benefits.

Reparations will be too expensive, depriving the government of the ability to repair the Social Security and Medicare programs and address certain financial demands that favor all Americans.

Any reparation plan will result in discrimination and massive administration costs. Who will be receiving reparations? Labor Descendants? All Black people? Will African Americans get paid well? If a fund were established, who would be administering it? Will those who are dissatisfied with the program ask for further reparations or bring court action?