Britain's Slavery Debt: Reparations Now!

A concise, reasoned, practical case for why Britain should pay reparations for historic wrongs to present Caribbean inhabitants. Britain owes reparations to the Caribbean. The exploitation of generations of those trafficked from Africa, or born into enslavement, to work the immensely profitable sugars plantations, enriched both British individuals and the British nation. Colonialism, even after emancipation, perpetuated the exploitation. The Caribbean still suffers, and Britain still benefits, from these historic wrongs. There are some fairly standard objections to reparations -- 'slavery ended a long time ago'; 'Britain should be celebrating its role in abolishing slavery'; 'slavery was legal back then and we shouldn't judge the past by the standards of the present'; 'you shouldn't visit the sins of the fathers on the sons'; and so on. And there is a sense that the practical problems of who should pay what to whom are immensely difficult. Michael Banner carefully considers and answers these objections. He argues that reparations are not about punishment, but about the restoration of wrongful gains. In Reparations Now! he makes a specific and practical proposal regarding reparations, picking up on the programme suggested by Caribbean countries (through CARICOM), and taking as a starting point the nearly £20 million paid as compensation by the British government at abolition, not to those who had suffered slavery, but to those who lost enslaved labourers. Reparations Now! discusses what can be done, here and now, by individuals and institutions, to advance the case for reparations between national governments.

Table of Contents:
Foreword 1: Introduction: A Proposal 2: Britain and the Caribbean: A Brief (and Painful) History 3: When History is Not History: The Demands of Moral Repair 4: Some (Mostly Not Very Good) Objections to Reparations 5: From Principle to Practice: Who Should Pay What to Whom? 6: 'It Ain't Gonna Happen' 7: Conclusion: All for the Sake of . . .

About the Author :
Michael Banner is Dean and Fellow of Trinity College, University of Cambridge, having previously held chairs in the University of Edinburgh and at King's College, University of London. He has been a regular contributor to discussions of public policy in areas ranging from the environment to the use of animals in science, from ethical investment to the regulation of the use of human tissue, and has chaired or served as a member of numerous government committees over the past 25 years.

Review :
Michael Banner has made a coherent and cogent case for British reparations to the Caribbean. He sets out a practical and feasible plan for immediate, low level action on how to get it done; and for the broad, longer-term vision of national action. I believe that this treatise will become a classic. One of Britain's most acute and independent ethical thinkers here sets out the case for reparations to those whose ancestors suffered from the Atlantic slave trade, and does so with exemplary clarity and force. Detailing the shameful history of the trade, and countering all the commonest arguments against reparations, Banner presents one of the most powerful cases yet for an urgent new look at an imperative most of us still - embarrassingly - do not want to attend to. Michael Banner's book takes us through the literary labyrinth of the erupting reparatory justice discourse. It is a roller coaster read, a turbulent ride in western reasoning about its greatest crime against humanity - the transatlantic chattel enslavement of millions of Africans over several centuries. He ends his endeavour with the declaration that the enslaved and not the enslavers should have received compensation. This is a major contribution to the reparations movement and will be celebrated also for its timeliness. Michael Banner urges Britons to ponder the case for British slavery reparations. Acknowledging that no recompense or "final reckoning", can ever be made for slavery, Banner contends that financial compensation must nevertheless be part of the solution to Britain's relationship with the Caribbean, [imploring] the government to begin with the 20-million-pound payment that slaveholders received for the loss of their human property as the starting point for a project of moral repair...With ethical clarity at its foundation, Britain's Slavery Debt wades into important debates on the legacies of slavery and racism. Distinguished by a combination of sound historic assessment and clear-eyed moral judgement, this short, well-written, and accessible book provides an unanswerable case for reparations. a heartfelt and trenchant plea for Britain to pay slavery reparations to the Caribbean ... Excellent I would contend that this is an important book that takes its place alongside other works that are lesser known or appreciated. As Banner himself notes, this conversation did not start with his book, and I would contend that it should not revolve around this tome. That said, this discussion is all the richer and clearer because of Banner's notable work. Equally, given the stature of the writer, his engagement with the subject will undoubtedly give it greater credence, gravitas and exposure.