Reparations, Explained

Last April, the U.S. Congress advanced H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act, for committee consideration. In 1989, Congressman John Conyers first introduced the bill. Since then, H.R. 40 has been re-introduced at every congressional session but never reached a committee vote. The bill would form a 13-member federal commission to examine the sources of racial discrimination and voter suppression that date back to the United State’s enslavement of Black people. This federal commission would then present policy proposals to Congress for redress and repair, including reparations. Reparations refer to an economic system of Continue reading Reparations, Explained

Qhapaq Ñan and Long-Term Economic Development

In the early 15th century, the Inca Empire extended along the Pacific coast and into the Andean mountains across Ecuador, Peru, northern Chile, Bolivia, upland Argentina, and southern Colombia. At its peak, the empire consisted of 12 million inhabitants from more than 100 different ethnic groups. The Qhapaq Ñan, a 30,000-kilometre-long transportation and communication system, was central to the empire’s expansion and exchange-based economy. In its construction, the location of this road system was not random but determined by social, economic, and geographical factors and patterns. What’s more, while this network was the spine of the Inca Empire, it also Continue reading Qhapaq Ñan and Long-Term Economic Development