At the bar of conscience: A Kantian argument for slavery reparations

Abstract

Arguments for slavery reparations have fallen out of favour even as reparations for other forms of racial injustice are taken more seriously. This retreat is unsurprising, as arguments for slavery reparations often rely on two normatively irregular claims: that reparations are owed to the dead (as opposed to, say, their living heirs) and that the present generation inherits an as yet unrequited guilt from past generations. Outside of some strands of Black thought and activism on slavery reparations, these claims are widely rejected. I develop an argument for slavery reparations around those foundational claims by adopting the normative framework of Immanuel Kant. On what I call the Basic Argument for slavery reparations, the application of Kant’s retributivist theory of punishment to slavery justifies reparations as a kind of proportional punishment for slavery. I also show that Kant’s philosophy offers reparations theorists resources to overcome several contemporary objections to slavery reparations.

The Promise and Limit of Kant’s Theory of Justice: On Race, Gender and the Structural Domination of Labourers

“…An alternative scheme of housing rights is crucial in the aftermath of economic crises that have left many without homes or housing insecure. Indeed, renewed calls for reparations for black chattel slavery and Jim Crow seek compensation for black homes and business destroyed by white mobs and discriminatory housing practices (Fisette 2022). These calls stand as a litmus test for the future development of a theory of justice that can undo the domination contract.…”

Reparations to the Privileged?

“…In a recent article, Jason Fisette develops a novel theory of reparations grounded in punishment. 30 Fisette develops this theory by closely examining Kant's theory of right; he believes that a charitable reading of Kant commits one to the punishment theory of reparations. Our concern is not with whether the punishment theory of reparations is indeed implicit in Kant's work.…”