Dictators have plagued the entirety of human history. No matter the era, there has always been someone whose overwhelming greed for power dwarfed any humanity they had left in them. Entire nations were plundered, societies have been stunted, and millions of people and their descendants have suffered all because of the actions of these singular entities. Truly, there is no way these criminals can atone for their sins in their lifetime. However, the painful scars left by the deep wounds dictators have inflicted on everybody make it impossible to forgive and forget at all. Everyone is then left wondering, who must pay for these crimes?

It is nigh impossible to sympathize with the people who directly benefited from the inhumane acts of dictators. In reality, most of the immediate kin of dictators knowingly participated in and benefited from the dictator’s crimes, and they rightfully should be punished under the rule of law. A timely example would be the family of the late South Korean Dictator Chun Doo-hwan. Chun Woo-won, the dictator’s grandson, has recently spoken up about his family members’ crimes of using black money that is legally owed to the South Korean government. These people are no innocent relatives of a dictator; they themselves have committed a crime and must receive equal punishment.

The line, however, becomes much more blurry when talking about descendants who were still unknowing children or not even born yet when these dictators came into power. Even if the reparations were to be fully paid, these descendants will still likely be the recipients of an unbelievable amount of hate and criticism. Should these people, if not their entire lineage, then be also obligated by law to surrender a portion of what they own as further reparation for their ancestor’s crimes? Granted, it is likely that these descendants will be beneficiaries of economic opportunities only made possible by the riches their ancestors ripped from the masses' hands. Yet, despite how good the lives of these descendants turn out to be as a butterfly effect of their ancestor’s crimes, they should not be held liable for a crime they did not partake in. It is not right to spread out punishments for a crime to the point that innocent people are included.

Are the sins of the father, the sins of the son? Given this question, without any other context, most people would answer no. Logically, it does not seem fair to punish a human being for something they had no control over — the son of a criminal did not choose to be born to a criminal. Even in the case of dictators, their descendants might have a moral obligation to acknowledge the crimes of their ancestors and mend old wounds to the extent of their capabilities. However, that choice must come from within. People should not be punished by the virtue of their existence. 

The crimes of dictators stand out amongst the most heinous crimes ever committed in human history. Since it is impossible for them to atone for their sins alone, their kin and descendants then become the recipient of all the hate and suffering people understandably want to give back. However, imposing punishment on innocent descendants is simply just that — punishing innocent people. It won’t do anything to right the crimes their ancestors, who they were unfortunate enough to be related to, have committed. This is not to say that this injustice compares in any way to the injustice victims of dictators have experienced; no matter how cliche it is, two wrongs will never make a right. Crime, and only crime, begets punishment.