Taking responsibility for the past : reparation and historical injustice /

Thompson (La Trobe Univ.) has extended and augmented the work from her two previous books, Discourse and Knowledge: Defence of a Collectivist Ethics (1998) and Justice and World Order: A Philosophical Inquiry (1992), with this latest volume on reparation and historical justice. Both incorporating and responding to the works of Rawls, MacIntyre, Nozick, Sandel, Sher, and others, Thompson distinguishes between a rights-centered restorative approach to historical injustices and an obligations-dependent reconciliatory approach, advancing the latter. She argues that reparative justice is distinct from, though related to, both distributive justice and retributive justice. In addition, she analyzes the conditions of transgenerational historical obligations and entitlements as well as the moral subtleties connected to inheritance, equity, and family lines. She applies her analysis and approach to various historical cases, including slaves in the US, the Sioux nation, New Zealand Maoris, and Serbia. This work is very clearly written, tightly argued, and provocative. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty. D. B. Boersema Pacific University