A reparational justice journey: the Tax Justice Network podcast, October 2020

In this episode of the Tax Justice Network’s monthly podcast, the Taxcast, we go on a reparational justice journey and speak to the Council for World Mission about their Legacies of Slavery project.

Plus: austerity’s out, public investment is now in?! We discuss the IMF’s hypocritical turn around – now poorer countries need apologies and restitution…

Featuring:

• Rev Dr Peter Cruchley, Council for World Mission
• Economist and reparations specialist Priya Lukka
• John Christensen, Tax Justice Network
• Hosted and produced by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network

The transcript is available HERE (some is automated and may not be 100% accurate)

In the reparations movement, they talk about a process of kind of if it’s for us, but not with us, it’s not authentic. So I think that that has to be really remembered in this, it has to be a structured process within the context of international African social movements for reparations.

It’s really important to think who is asking different bodies to do this work? On whose mandate and who are these constituencies that this work seeks to report for, seeks to action change for? The principle of consultation and participation has to be present.“

~ Priya Lukka, economist and reparations specialist

For me, [reparational justice] is about acknowledging the past and the history of exploitation that our capitalist systems are particularly mired in. But it’s also about reaching towards the vision and goals of what our shared human life can be like, especially when we bring economic justice and the potential of our economies to bear to the full.“

~ Rev Dr Peter Cruchley, Council for World Mission

The pandemic is forcing a long overdue rethink of economics. And this rethink has reached the very highest level of economic policy-making. When the International Monetary Fund issues policy advice to governments that they need to foster a strong recovery from the pandemic, even if this takes the level of public debt to record over 100% of global domestic product by the year end 2020, we have clearly entered new territory.“

~ John Christensen, Tax Justice Network

There’s never been a more obvious time to talk about reparational justice. For so many decades the IMF and World Bank have been advising poorer nations struggling economically to sell their most valuable assets, open up their markets, supposedly to investment, which turns out to be extraction. They’ve told them to cut back on their public services. But now that wealthy governments are sort of like rabbits caught in the COVID headlights, the IMF and the World Bank have done a total turnaround. And they’re calling on governments to increase public investment to aid an economic recovery and create jobs!”

~Naomi Fowler, Tax Justice Network

Further reading:

• USING WORLD-HISTORY TO INFORM WORK FOR REPARATIONS: Reparations, Restitution, Transitional Justice (The International Network of Scholars and Activists for Afrikan Reparations)
• Repairing harm caused: What could a reparations approach mean for the IMF and World Bank? by Priya Lukka
• Britain’s Slave Owner Compensation Loan, reparations and tax havenry

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