Reparations, its proponents insist, are payments white Americans owe black Americans for enslaving them, a practice that ended 163 years ago. These advocates would have us believe that seven or eight generations after the fact, the limitations and inequalities of slavery still hold slavery’s descendants back and deny them their chance at the American dream. And somebody has to pay.
Setting aside the logic of that claim for the moment — while noting its similarity to the familiar liberal mantra: “Vote for us, and we’ll give you stuff!” — let us consider the practical question: Who exactly should pay whom?
