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From: laura@utzoo.UUCP (Laura Creighton)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: Reparations -- the issues
Message-ID: <5524@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 22-Apr-85 14:04:28 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.5524
Posted: Mon Apr 22 14:04:28 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 22-Apr-85 14:04:28 EST
References: <909@wucs.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 44


The issue of compensation (reparations) is Nozick's big contribution to
libertarian thought. It is part of his ``just holdings'' issue.

The whole belief in reparations is not shared by most libertarians.
The assumption that it is always possible to put a price on something
is a falacy - prices are what sellers and buyers determine when they
want to reach an agreement, not something that somebody arbitrarily
can decide by fiat. [In libertaria, of course -- I am well aware of
marketting boards...] So Moe wants compensation for not having his
land and Joe decides that he owes Moe compensation. Now what? Will
they agree on a price -- probably not. Say Joe gives Moe the land back.
Who pays Joe for improving the land? Moe? not likely -- Moe is broke.
Sell the land? Boy, is there going to be a glut on the market!

Another problem is where do responsibilities stop? If my grandfather
ripped off somebody, do I owe that somebody's grandchildren? I think
not. I do not think that dead people (well, people whose wills were
not contested and so on) can be held responsible for their actions
(since they are dead) and I don't think that their descendents can
be held responsible either. It would have been good to fix the injustice
at the time of my grandfatehr, yes, and if I am being injust it is good
to nail me for it -- but I am not responsible for the crimes of my
grandfather, even though I may benefit from those crimes.

Given that we have not always lived in libertaria, it is reasonable
to assume that a heck of a lot of injustice has occurred in the past.
Everybody has suffered and everybody has benefitted. It may not even out,
but it does mean that injustices *now* are more to the point than
injustices *then*. 

If my great-great-grandparents had not faced religious persecution
(injustice) in their homelands, I would not have been born. This does not
make religious persecution good either -- but I certainly benefitted from
it. The world is full of these good consequences of evil events and evil
consequences of good events. You cannot ever determine how much anybody
owes ``everybody else'' or ``society'' or ``mankind'' - it always works
out to being ``what somebody says that you do''. WHich is why Nozick
does not go down very smoothly in a good many libertarian circles.

busy now,
maybe back later...

Laura