As a black man, I know that socialism should be able to solve all the problems that keep our races divided but we until that time comes this question always seems to keep coming up.
I actually don't think a blank check would solve the problem for all disparity because the system that fucked us would literally receive the money back 90% of the time. It is all pointless unless we received resources, or means of production or property.
I think because of capitalism, the majority of Black Americans are lead to think as long as black celebrities or black billionaires are getting richer, they benefit from it too. Which is never the case. Reparations is a difficult thing to ask for because I feel the government wouldn't allow the receivers of this to do whatever they please with those funds due to how large scale reparations would be.
These are just my beginning thoughts. Feel free to discuss and I'll chime in from time to time.
This board really need an american bullshit politics general.
Grayson King
The idea of reparations, as justified by some idea of making right on wrongs done in the past(by dead men, to dead men and women) is fantastical racialist bullshit at its core even if the problems it seeks to address are real. 'Your people harmed my people' is a nonsense statement. Of course the problems it seeks to address are real, but chronic poverty is chronic poverty regardless of the historical reasons for it. There's no reason to single out only chronic poverty caused some particular history of oppression unless you're subscribing to that fantasy fiction idea of what 'history' is. If you just sought to address chronic poverty and poor conditions in general, black people and native Americans would receive disproportionate benefit inasmuch as they represent a disproportionate share of chronic poverty on account of the history of their parents, grandparents, etc getting fucked and thus having nothing to pass down. A well off middle class black family does not need or deserve economic assistance to address problems of cyclical poverty they are not affected by. A rich black celebrity should be fucking /paying/ for economic assistance to those who actually need it.
lmao from the very same guys who claim Sweden and Norway are economically free when they have higher tax burdens and unionization rates that would make Milton Friedman cry in his sleep
Jeremiah James
Economic freedom isn't (primarily) measured by tax rates and lack of unionization, otherwise north korea and cuba should be at the top of the economic freedom list. Regardless of that, the most poverty struck african countries are those that have/had socialist governments.
Daniel Rogers
I 100% agree with your assessment. However, most black Americans would attempt to call you racist for this line of thinking.
The real question for myself is how to communicate that with blacks in general. What is the point of reparations if we create a new class separation? It does not solve any major problems and actually would create more. We needed reparations in the 1860s-1940s. Not now. If we want to talk about it from an inner black perspective. Why do we not expect more from our black celebrities?
Good post.
I don't know much about the history of Africa as much as you do but I am trying to take look at the American situation more than the world problems of empires getting rich from Africa. That should be another thread for discussion. I do think that African Countries aren't given enough space to do their own thing and so it is hard for them to decide what's best for their community.
Fuck off.
Dominic Gray
Reparations should only be payed to individuals who were actually wronged personally. Beyond that reparations are a childish and philosophically weak idea.
Luke Sullivan
I agree. This is why I say reparations right now are way too late. 1860s-1940s were the right times.
