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Justice for the Past by Stephen Kershnar
Among the most controversial issues in the United States is the question of whether public or private agencies should adopt preferential treatment programs or be required to pay reparations for slavery. Using a carefully reasoned philosophical approach, Stephen Kershnar argues that programs such as affirmative action and calls for slavery reparations are unjust for three reasons. First, the state has a duty to direct resources to those persons who, through their abilities, will benefit most from them. Second, he argues that, in the case of slavery, past injustice-where both the victims and perpetrators are long dead-cannot ground current claims to compensation. As terrible as slavery was, those who claim a right to compensation today owe their existence to it, he reasons, and since the events that bring about a person's existence are normally thought to be beneficial, past injustices do not warrant compensation. Finally, even if past injustices were allowed to serve as the basis of compensation in the present, other variables prevent a reasonable estimation of the amount owed.-
Power, Constraint, and Policy Change
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Through the Constitution's Eyes
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Toeing the Line
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Supreme Court Policymaking and Race
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Free Speech and Incitement in the Twenty-First Century
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Constitutional Ambiguity and the Interpretation of Presidential Power
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The US Supreme Court and the Centralization of Federal Authority
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Defenders of Liberty or Champions of Security?
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Public Spaces, Marketplaces, and the Constitution
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Universal Rights and the Constitution
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Politics and Constitutionalism
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John Marshall's Constitutionalism
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Executing the Constitution
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New York's Broken Constitution
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The Quotable Judge Posner
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Checking the Courts
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Rights, Remedies, and the Impact of State Sovereign Immunity
- Morality Collapses
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Does the Pro-Life Worldview Make Sense?
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Total Collapse: The Case Against Responsibility and Morality
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Desert Collapses
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Sex, Discrimination, and Violence
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Gratitude toward Veterans
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Desert and Virtue
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Pedophilia and Adult–Child Sex
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Responsibility Collapses
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Desert, Retribution, and Torture
"This is an important and serious critique of both affirmative action and reparations for slaveryDespite the provocative nature of the subject matter, Kershnar writes coolly and objectively." — Michael Levin, author of Why Race Matters: Race Differences and What They Mean
"Civil rights, affirmative action, and reparations for slavery are burning issues today. Kershnar's bold, clearly reasoned arguments are fresh, insightful, and cogent." — Louis P. Pojman, United States Military Academy, West Point
"Although I strongly disagree with his views, Kershnar provides the most coherent set of arguments against reparations available in the philosophical literature." — Albert Mosley, coauthor of Affirmative Action: Social Justice or Unfair Preference?
Stephen Kershnar is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Fredonia and the author of Desert, Retribution, and Torture.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780791460726 |
| ISBN 10 | 079146072X |
| Title | Justice for the Past |
| Author | Stephen Kershnar |
| Series | Suny Series In American Constitutionalism |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | State University of New York Press |
| Year published | 2004-07-15 |
| Number of pages | 170 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |