The case against reparations for slavery

Last week, a bill cleared the US House Judiciary Committee that would establish a 13-person commission to consider federal reparations for slavery. Although similar legislation has been introduced in every Congress since 1989, this is the closest such a bill has ever advanced towards a full vote in the House. The President’s support for this pet far-left project is unsurprising. A reparations commission featured in Joe Biden’s campaign platform.

Advocating the establishment of this commission is a hop, skip and a jump from advocating reparations, full stop. The UK’s proliferating parliamentary inquiries often function to kick sensitive subjects into the long grass. But an American panel convened to address such a hot topic would create expectations. Its report could never conclude: ‘Sorry, we’ve decided that reparations are a terrible idea, so never mind.’ An ensuing recommendation of reparations in some form would be obligatory.

A word of warning. Lest Brits dismiss this matter as another hair-tear only pertinent across the pond, recall that America’s acrimonious critical race theory crap has landed with a resounding splat on this island like a wet meadow muffin. Should US slavery reparations come to pass, similar demands, perhaps to atone for the crimes of colonialism, will arrive in Britain by next-day FedEx.

As for what’s wrong with paying the descendants of slaves financial compensation for the grotesque suffering of their forebears — how long have you got?

First off, who would qualify for restitution? Would recipients of taxpayer-funded guilt money have to prove a lineage tracing back to human chattel? Archival records of America’s enslaved population are hopelessly incomplete; insisting on a conclusive family tree from Ancestry.com wouldn’t be fair. Or would the determination be made by skin colour, and beyond a certain whiter shade of pale you’re out of luck? Pretty repulsive.