Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
6-2003
Abstract
This article considers the question of the responsibility of present generations for injustices committed by previous ones. It asks whether the descendants of victims of past injustice have claims against the descendants of the perpetrators of injustice. Two modes of argument are examined: the individual responsibility approach, according to which descendants cannot have claims against other descendants, and the collective responsibility approach, according to which descendants do have strong claims. Both approaches are criticized, but for different failings. An alternative view, building on the individualist approach, is defended. This view argues that some people may have to bear responsibility for past injustice if lines of responsibility can clearly be drawn. This is most likely when certain kinds of corporate agents persist over generations, even after original members of such corporations have ceased to exist.
Keywords
Responsibility, Justice, Injustice, Aborigines, History
Discipline
Comparative Politics | Political Science
Research Areas
Political Science
Publication
Politics, Philosophy and Economics
Volume
2
Issue
2
First Page
165
Last Page
190
ISSN
1470-594X
Identifier
10.1177/1470594X03002002002
Publisher
SAGE Publications (UK and US)
Citation
KUKATHAS, Chandran.(2003). Responsibility for past injustice: How to shift the burden. Politics, Philosophy and Economics, 2(2), 165-190.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2941
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/1470594X03002002002