The turn of the 21^st century saw demands for compensation for slavery which occurred generations, and in some cases centuries ago.

While the thrust has been a confused one, the overall push seems to have been a demand for compensation paid by taxpayers in countries which used slaves (eg the USA and England) to pay money to governments in countries from which slaves were taken (eg in Africa). This is an odd demand for many reasons.

Compensation is usually paid by those who caused the suffering of others to those who suffered. In this case the people who caused the suffering, and those who suffered, are all dead. The defenders of the demands argue that the descendants of slavery are still suffering, but in that case, the recipients should not be governments of countries in Africa, but the descendants of slaves in the US and UK.

In fact the beneficiaries of slavery have been not just the 'white' populations of the US and UK, but the descendants of the slaves as well. Few African-American or African-English claim they would be better off in an African country, and fewer still actually make the move. In fact these people, even if they enjoy a lower standard of living than others in their countries, have benefited enormously from slavery.

Beneficiaries of slavery were also the in countries slaves were taken from. While the people who shipped slaves from Africa to the USA and UK were mostly white, they purchased their slaves from slave traders in Africa who were black. These people captured and sold their fellow Africans to whites for financial gain. Paying those countries again for allowing this practice seems like rewarding the culprit, not the victim.

In fact the only logical justification for payment to African countries is for the loss of human capital from their countries. The slaves which were purchased from the local slavers were the best and fittest (why buy an weak, sickly or inferior slave?), and that this depleted the local gene pool.

However arguing the genetic inferiority of their own populations is unlikely to appeal to the seekers of such compensation.