[HitmanLV]

Part of the argument is that even if your ancestors didn't own slaves, you benefited from the cultural structure that slavery and institutionalized bigotry created. That you or your ancestors didn't want the benefit is immaterial. Whites derived a benefit at the expense of blacks, so in the interest of equity it should be addressed.

I think the best argument against slave reparations is that any accounting of damage suffered in calculating economic harm suffered by blacks must necessarily be offset by any benefits derived by blacks.

That is, but for slavery many blacks in the USA would have been born in Africa and living there now. Compare things like standard of living, standards in health and healthcare, life expectancy, income, disposable income, etc between what benefit they enjoy in the USA vs what benefit they would enjoy if they were born and raised in Africa.

By that standard, I think a case could be made that when all the damage suffered is compared against all the benefits (relative to a lifelong existence in Africa) derived, black people may very well owe the USA money.

A calculation that only calculates damage without offsetting it by benefits is fundamentally unfair.

[nicmarlo]

A calculation that only calculates damage without offsetting it by benefits is fundamentally unfair.

All things being equal, of course. I agree with your post.