How does the author answer the sceptics' objection?
Governments are increasingly asked to apologise for historical wrongs such as slavery or the mistreatment of indigenous peoples. Sceptics ask what the apology can mean: those who did the wrong are dead, and those who apologise were not responsible. The objection mistakes what a state is. A state persists through time, and inherits obligations and benefits from its predecessors, as when it honours old debts. An apology from the state is a formal acknowledgement that a wrong occurred and that it was a wrong. It need not claim that present citizens are guilty. But a bare apology can sound empty. The test of sincerity is whether it is followed by action: records opened, history taught honestly and, where appropriate, some form of repair.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. By pointing out that a state persists through time and inherits obligations
- Step 1: The passage says the objection mistakes what a state is: it persists and inherits obligations and benefits, as when it honours old debts.
- Step 2: The only choice consistent with this is "By pointing out that a state persists through time and inherits obligations".
Answer
By pointing out that a state persists through time and inherits obligations.
Why not the others: The author answers the sceptics by pointing to the continuity of the state; the dead are not said to accept apologies, apologies are not called cheap, the wrongs are not denied and states are not dissolved.
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