Climate Change, Global Governance, International Law, International Trade & Finance Watch Now: Reconsidering Reparations with Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò

The global debate surrounding reparations for slavery has reignited in the last ten years. Many advocates, influenced by concepts like reconciliatory justice, have argued that reparations should be focused on making amends to disadvantaged communities in the present; others emphasize the idea of restitution for the horrific historical cruelties of European colonialism and chattel slavery.

In his new book, Reconsidering Reparations, Georgetown University’s Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò charts a path forward – a “constructive” view of reparations. He argues that reparations should aim to build a better social order, and that the costs of building a fairer and more equitable world should largely be borne by wealthier countries in the global north, who bear moral liability for past injustices. In an era where climate politics will increasingly decide people's opportunities, this construction project requires climate justice. Táíwò traces this approach to reparations back to Black American political thinkers such as James Baldwin, Martin Luther King Jr, and Nkechi Taifa, as well as mainstream political philosophers including John Rawls, Charles Mills, and Elizabeth Anderson.

Listen to this wide-ranging conversation with Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò on Reconsidering Reparations and its implications for justice, racism, the legacy of colonialism, and climate change policy.

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