Consigning Injustice to History with Political Apologies

ABSTRACT Failures to remember the past properly can constitute a range of different wrongs. In this article, we identify a novel kind of wrong that often occurs through political apologies: consigning an injustice to history. Consigning acknowledges that a historical injustice took place but denies that it has any ongoing relevance for the present. This is sometimes justified, but it is not justified when a past injustice's moral residue has not been washed away. We suggest a conception of political apologies – political apology as political atonement – that can help to avoid prematurely consigning injustices to history.