Tools for Tragedy: Procedures for Assessing Historic Redress Claims
Abstract
Programs providing monetary redress for historical injustices are often
heralded as praiseworthy acts of national accountability. However, critics
tend to judge their implementation harshly. Those unfavorable judgments
respond, at least in part, to trade-offs between important values that are
“hard-wired” into the basic tools of assessment. Exposing those tradeoffs
can help observers understand the compromises inherent in program
design and, hopefully, support policy makers in creating more rational
programs.
Keywords
policy design