4 ms·

So do you as a libertarian support paying descendants of slaves reparations? That is new among libertarians for sure.

tathougies 7y ago
I am not really a libertarian. I do not support race-based reparations (which is the most common form proposed), because the Americans that owe the families of today (the slaveowners) are dead. However, insofar as any personal wealth could be traced to their estates, yes they ought to be paid out to the families of any slave on those estates. This is also true of former free blacks that owned black slaves. That is to say, I am against reparations because I am against collective guilt for something that only some individuals in that collective are responsible for. I am certainly not opposed to collective restitution though, and do think that the descendants of former slaves ought to be compensated. So, if the government wanted to open up civil lawsuits so that African American descendants of slaves (and slaves from other ethnic groups) could sue their former 'master's' or their former 'master's' children or descendants for wealth inherited, and made a process by which such investigations could be carried out in a reasonable and fair manner, then yes, that would be great. That being said, libertarianism does quite often support reparations. Not all libertarians of course, but there are lots of libertarians that do, and justify it based on the fact that a person denied liberty deserves restitution, including their descendants. https://www.theepochtimes.com/return-of-stolen-property-a-libertarian-case-for-reparations_3177301.html https://www.theepochtimes.com/return-of-stolen-property-a-li... Walter Block, a prominent Austrian economics libertarian also makes the case for some kind of reparations: https://mises.org/wire/reparations-vs-property-rights https://mises.org/wire/reparations-vs-property-rights
- objektif 7y ago
  How can you prove you personally didnt benefit from the situation due to suppression of African Americans and Indians in this country? May be they could have gotten your job or your seat in an ivy league school. At least no libertarian that I know support reparations. They believe their position of weakness led them to be taken advantage of so they kind of "deserved" it. Or their labor were put to better use.
  - tathougies 7y ago
    A person who believe someone in a position of 'weakness' can be lawfully enslaved is quite literally not a libertarian. My civil torts would not be based on what ifs (like whether they could have had my job or school place), but on the best approximated wages owed to their ancestors that they ought to have inherited. The money would be paid out via those assets inherited by descendants of slave owners. Many southern plantations are still owned by slaver families and they generate revenue. This revenue is rightly due to the slaves descendants. I dont have any responsibility for slavery in this country because my family wasn't around at the time and i dont have any inheritance.

I am not really a libertarian. I do not support race-based reparations (which is the most common form proposed), because the Americans that owe the families of today (the slaveowners) are dead. However, insofar as any personal wealth could be traced to their estates, yes they ought to be paid out to the families of any slave on those estates. This is also true of former free blacks that owned black slaves. That is to say, I am against reparations because I am against collective guilt for something that only some individuals in that collective are responsible for. I am certainly not opposed to collective restitution though, and do think that the descendants of former slaves ought to be compensated. So, if the government wanted to open up civil lawsuits so that African American descendants of slaves (and slaves from other ethnic groups) could sue their former 'master's' or their former 'master's' children or descendants for wealth inherited, and made a process by which such investigations could be carried out in a reasonable and fair manner, then yes, that would be great. That being said, libertarianism does quite often support reparations. Not all libertarians of course, but there are lots of libertarians that do, and justify it based on the fact that a person denied liberty deserves restitution, including their descendants. https://www.theepochtimes.com/return-of-stolen-property-a-libertarian-case-for-reparations_3177301.html https://www.theepochtimes.com/return-of-stolen-property-a-li... Walter Block, a prominent Austrian economics libertarian also makes the case for some kind of reparations: https://mises.org/wire/reparations-vs-property-rights https://mises.org/wire/reparations-vs-property-rights

objektif 7y ago
How can you prove you personally didnt benefit from the situation due to suppression of African Americans and Indians in this country? May be they could have gotten your job or your seat in an ivy league school. At least no libertarian that I know support reparations. They believe their position of weakness led them to be taken advantage of so they kind of "deserved" it. Or their labor were put to better use.
- tathougies 7y ago
  A person who believe someone in a position of 'weakness' can be lawfully enslaved is quite literally not a libertarian. My civil torts would not be based on what ifs (like whether they could have had my job or school place), but on the best approximated wages owed to their ancestors that they ought to have inherited. The money would be paid out via those assets inherited by descendants of slave owners. Many southern plantations are still owned by slaver families and they generate revenue. This revenue is rightly due to the slaves descendants. I dont have any responsibility for slavery in this country because my family wasn't around at the time and i dont have any inheritance.