DISCUSSING the apparent “bold move” by Glasgow University to pay back slave trade profits by setting up a £20million “programme of restorative justice”, a colleague of mine raised an eyebrow and suggested this could be thought of as a politically correct form of ambulance chasing.
The university is to establish a Glasgow-Caribbean Centre for Development Research, managed in partnership with the University of the West Indies. But it is unclear how this relates to or helps resolve any of the problems faced by black people in either the West Indies or in Scotland today.
One wonders about the extent to which this move fits more with the modern liberal elite’s desire for virtue signalling, mixed with the development of both a compensation and victim culture in British society.
Part of the problem is that it reflects another example of universities moving away from their purpose, the development of knowledge, towards an instrumental approach in which all sorts of social problems become the objective of the academy, where the pursuit of truth once again becomes weighed down by social, economic or moralising issues.
Perhaps the new research centre will produce some good work but with a therapeutic basis for its existence it is unlikely to produce much that is challenging to the sensibilities of those who have founded it. After all, to be open and questioning about everything, as you should be, could lead to findings that could be seen as hurtful or disrespectful rather than “restorative”.
It is of course worth noting that until the Enlightenment and modernity, the ideas and ideals of liberty and equality that laid the basis for the abolition of slavery did not exist. Indeed, despite receiving funds from those who benefited from slavery, many of the staff at Glasgow University adopted a clear anti-slavery position at the time, and in 1791 it awarded an honorary degree to William Wilberforce who led the fight to abolish slavery in Britain.
The move by the university may appear progressive but there is something quite pompous about this bourgeois trend to apologise, something rather worthy, almost holy, in this public, perhaps even publicity-seeking, self-flagellation. “Look at me. I’m so humble”.
Perhaps the most depressing part of this affair is, as academic Joanna Williams has noted, “It also suggests that other people who are alive today are victims of what happened to their ancestors”.
Rather than encouraging young black and white people to look to the future, it encourages a victim-based sense of being forever trapped in the past. Something that undermines a dynamic sense of progress and liberation, a sense embodied by the black and white people who crushed slavery 200 years ago, and one still needed today to move society forwards.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel