Compensating for Impoverishing Injustices of the Distant Past
Politikon 32 (1):83-102 (2005)
| Abstract | Calls for compensation are heard in many countries all over the world. Spokespersons on behalf of formerly oppressed and dominated groups call for compensation for the deeply traumatic injustices their members have suffered in the past. Sometimes these injustices were suffered decades ago by members already deceased. How valid are such claims to compensation and should they be honoured as a matter of justice? The focus of this essay is on these issues of compensatory justice. I want to look at the issue from the perspective of the eradication of systematic poverty affecting particular groups—where injustices of the distant past can reliably be identified as one of the major contributory factors to people’s current poverty. In the paper I will examine the following issues: (1) What kind of injustices qualify to be remedied by means of compensatory justice? (2) Should there be a limit to how far back in history one should go to compensate for injustice? (3) How can an injustice from the distant past be reliably identified as a cause of current problems? (4) Who should be compensated? (5) Who is responsible for compensation? (6) What form should compensation take? (7) Is the concept of compensatory justice backward looking or forward looking? I will argue for a moral obligation to the effect that serious injustices, perpetrated long ago against a group of people and caused them to be poor, ought to be compensated by society in a variety of ways to the original victims (if still alive) and their descendants. | |||||||||
| Keywords | Injustice Poverty Compensation | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,709 |
| External links | This entry has no external links. Add one. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesNahshon Perez (2011). On Compensation and Return: Can The 'Continuing Injustice Argument' for Compensating for Historical Injustices Justify Compensation for Such Injustices or the Return of Property? Journal of Applied Philosophy 28 (2):151-168.
Jeff Spinner-Halev (2007). From Historical to Enduring Injustice. Political Theory 35 (5):574 - 597.
Chandran Kukathas (2003). Responsibility for Past Injustice: How to Shift the Burden. Politics, Philosophy and Economics 2 (2):165-190.
Daniel Butt (2009). Rectifying International Injustice: Principles of Compensation and Restitution Between Nations. Oxford University Press.
Robert Sparrow (2000). History and Collective Responsibility. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 78 (3):346 – 359.
Thom Brooks (2008). A Two-Tiered Reparations Theory: A Reply to Wenar. Journal of Social Philosophy 39 (4):666-669.
Makoto Usami (2005). World Poverty and Justice Beyond Borders. Tokyo Institute of Technology Department of Social Engineering Discussion Paper (05-04):1-18.
Manfred Berg & Bernd Schäfer (eds.) (2009). Historical Justice in International Perspective: How Societies Are Trying to Right the Wrongs of the Past. Cambridge University Press.
Todd Calder (2010). Shared Responsibility, Global Structural Injustice, and Restitution. Social Theory and Practice 36 (2):263-290.
Jeff Spinner-Halev (2012). Enduring Injustice. Cambridge University Press.
Axel Gosseries (2004). Historical Emissions and Free-Riding. Ethical Perspectives 11 (1):36-60.
Andrew I. Cohen (2009). Compensation for Historic Injustices: Completing the Boxill and Sher Argument. Philosophy and Public Affairs 37 (1):81-102.
James A. Brander (2006). The Effect of Ethical Fund Portfolio Inclusion on Executive Compensation. Journal of Business Ethics 69 (4):317 - 329.
Jon Miller & Rahul Kumar (eds.) (2007). Reparations: Interdisciplinary Inquiries. Oxford University Press.
Analytics
Monthly downloads
Sorry, there are not enough data points to plot this chart.
|
Added to index2011-04-05Total downloads0Recent downloads (6 months)0How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
