Justice for the past / Stephen Kershnar.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kershnar, Stephen.

Series:

SUNY series in American constitutionalism

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Minorities--Civil rights--United States.

Minorities.

Women's rights--United States.

Women's rights.

Minorities--Government policy--United States.

Women--Government policy--United States.

Women.

Affirmative action programs--United States.

Affirmative action programs.

African Americans--Reparations.

African Americans.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (171 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Intro

Justice for the Past

Contents

Acknowledgments

SECTION 1

Introduction

SECTION 2: Civil Rights Laws

1. The Most Qualified Applicant

PART 1. The Job Qualification

PART 2. The Best Conception of a Job Qualification Yields at Most a Very Weak Reason to Favor a Meritocracy

PART 3. Antidiscrimination Laws Cannot Be Justified by Meritocratic Concerns

PART 4. Qualifications for Educational Institutions

PART 5. Conclusion

SECTION 3: Strong Affirmative Action

2. Strong Affirmative-Action Programs at State Institutions

PART 1. Introduction

PART 2. The Duty to Judge Persons According to Their Interests and Desert

PART 3. Strong Affirmative-Action Programs at State Educational Institutions Cannot Be Justified via Compensatory Justice

PART 4. Conclusion

3. Uncertain Damages to Racial Minorities and Strong Affirmative Action

PART 1. The Hypothetical Imperative to Distribute Resources in a Just Manner

PART 2. Compensatory Justice and the Assessment of Damages

PART 3. Compensatory Justice and Inadequate Knowledge of Damages

PART 4. We Do Not Have Adequate Knowledge of the Amount of Compensable Injury to Current Members of Some Racial Minority Groups

SECTION 4: Reparations for Slavery

4. The Inheritance-Based Claim to Reparations

PART 2. Slavery Did Not Harm the Descendants of Slaves

PART 3. Compensation May Be Owed to the Descendants of Slaves As a Result of a Legitimate Inheritance Claim

5. Reject the Inheritance-Based Claim to Reparations

PART 1. Objections to the Inheritance-Based Claim to Reparations

PART 2. Who Owes Compensation?

PART 3 Conclusion

SECTION 5: Proper Respect

6. Intrinsic Moral Value and Racial Differences

PART 1. The Expression of Equal Moral Value

PART 2. The Argument.

PART 3. Implications of the Argument

SECTION 6: Educational Diversity

7. Experiential Diversity

PART 1. Grutter and Bakke

PART 2. Experiential Diversity and Truth

PART 3. A More General Approach to Diversity

PART 4 Equal-Opportunity Arguments

PART 5 Conclusion

Notes

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

Index

A

B

C

D

E

G

H

I

J

L

M

P

R

S

T

W.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-155) and index.

ISBN:

9780791485156

0791485153

9781423739807

1423739809

OCLC:

62751310