:up:

I am agree with your arguments and I would like to add another point if you do not mind

A vast number of citizens have a poor idea of the meaning of justice. They only want it if fits their personal interests, when the latter is clearly a selfish act. It is a big paradox the people who are asking to "repair" past problems (such as colonialism) would be probably the ones who would have been the worst in the other part in the balance! None state is out of being "guilty" past and those who romantize past civilizations only live in fantasy worlds or they are just hypocrite liars.

Good point.

Any attempt at distributive justice performed in a manner that utilizes injustice in order to achieve a just result is impossible. It can only compound injustice.

But I think there is a case for reparations as far as institutions are concerned. I believe reparations are owed to the descendants of slaves, for example, from the institutions that profited from stolen people and labor.

I believe reparations are owed to the descendants of slaves, for example, from the institutions that profited from stolen people and labor. — NOS4A2

What if those institutions no longer exist? Many enterprises which profited thanks to slavery ended up in bankbankruptcy due to the abolishment of such activities.
In the other hand, I guess it would be difficult to "satisfy" those descendants, because how we economically measure stolen labor and persons? There will be people and "collectives" who would never felt satisfied, whatever the amount of money perceived. Maybe a solution can only be accepted by a symbolic act, like: "I am sorry for what our ascendants did in the past"

I am mainly concerned with the question of whether someone's descendant can inherit guilt. It is a common theme in religion with the original sin and in the Notion of Karma.

I was bought up being told that I was inherently sinful and deserving of hell. And there is the doctrine of total depravity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_depravity

But it doesn't necessarily make sense.

But some times the continued presence of malicious human behaviour through history can make you support a notion of original sin. Are we born with innate antisocial traits? — Andrew4Handel

I think I'd like to split up these questions into three:

1) Can a person inherit family guilt, or be subject to some kind of original sin outside of their control?
2) Is that the same as original sin and being born to deserve damnation?
3) Are we born with innate antisocial traits?


To 1 I'd want to say yes. 2, no. 3, no, with a but.

1) Mostly thinking, what's stopping you from inheriting family guilt? It seems like a truism that if one lives within a culture where such a thing is enforced that that person has to deal with the consequences of that family guilt, whether they like it or not. (Now, should they? That's a different question)

2) For me a sort of boring no, because I simply don't believe in the premises that even give these words meaning.

3) No, we're not. And it's worth noting that "antisocial" is dependent upon which social environment we're in, so in a boring way we cannot be born with antisocial traits, even if we have inherent traits, because it's not dependent upon the traits it's dependent upon the evaluation of those traits in a given social environment.

The "but" -- we all have this potential, so I believe, to be persuaded to do evil. "Evil" is a funny word for materialism, but what I'd highlight is that we are all frail, prone to make mistakes, and so on, and the evils of the world were done by ordinary people like ourselves.

Did you invent science, religion, language, civil society, law, agriculture, technology, architecture, cloth-making, education, etc, etc, etc... or did you inherit them?
And if you did inherit all these benefits and advantages, do you then refuse to accept the responsibility to repair the damages they have done as well as enjoy the benefits?

As to how that responsibility should be exercised, we can have a long and possibly fruitful discussion, but if you take no responsibility, there is nothing I have to say to you.

If someone is in need do what you can to help them if you feel inclined to do so.

Do the Welsh ask for reparations from the Italians? Do they demand that the profits from Parma ham be redistributed to Welsh ham makers.

As for colonialism I think it is a little bit silly to act like it was all brutal and oppressive with no benefits gained by colonised regions.

A good person with ‘bad money’ does good. A bad person with ‘good money’ does bad. Money does not care who handles it.