Hi Michael,

All humans are not equal, mainly because nature and nurture, the opportunities and obstacles that come with different socio-economic backgrounds and upbringing vary greatly. As a thought experiment, why not imagine being born somewhere fundamentally different than you are now? Would some things you believe to be a part of what makes you YOU be different?

In ecological economics the idea that some nations thrive due their ingenuity and the better utilisation of innovations emerging from the marriage of science and technology is regarded as backwards. Geography, and interestingly enough: biogeographic initial conditions 12,000 years ago, just before the origins of agriculture.

All European innovation is built on the foundations of Arabic maths and science.

Building on your test score example: reparations aren't about taking from anyone. It's about maintaining the living systems that sustain all of us via practices of resistance, remediation, and mutual care so we can revive damaged ecologies.