Affirmative Action

Historical Background

-14th Amendment (1868) -Plessy v. Ferguson (1896 ) - -NAACP began to go to court to fight segregation. started with education (1930's and 1940's) -Sweatt v. Painter (1946, decided 1950) -, established all black schools -Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954)+ Most influential case 20th century -Civil Rights Act (1964)+, discrimination in employment -DeFunnis v. Odegaard (1971, 1974)+, race no criteria for admission -Bakke v University of California (1977)~,Bakke should be accepted and that racial quotas are unacceptable.race can be a relevant criterion for admission -WWII and following events helped discredit racism in the eyes of many.

Definitions and Philosophic Principles

-Affirmative Action (AA):an active effort to improve the educational, training, financial aid, and employment opportunities of members of minority groups (although in some cases majority groups) and women. -Racism:the belief that race is a primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race -Retributive justice:justice as retribution for wrongdoing -Compensatory Justice:seeks to achieve justice via compensation, i.e., payment for wrongdoing -Distributive Justice:holds when the benefits and burdens of society are distributed fairly among the population -Procedural Justice: holds when the rules are followed and applied fairly *No such thing as 'perfect justice' in this world!

Arguments Against

-Issue of Procedural justice: By making gender, race, or ethnicity a relevant category it changes the rules and takes us farther from the ideal of a color blind society. -brings discrimination right back into the equation -There's no such thing as perfect justice. It is impossible to undo the injustices of the past. It is unfair to penalize or reward young people for the sins or suffering of their ancestors. generation now was not denied opportunities. difficult to determine how past discrimination affects their current lives -'Rights' adhere in individuals, not in groups. At least theoretically, 'rights' are held by individuals -AA carries a hurtful insult by suggesting that specific groups need extra help. -AA undermines the hard work and achievements of those who really made it on their own. -giving students a boost in admissions might set them up for difficulties, frustration, and attrition. this results in dropping out

Introductory Remarks

-Maintain a philosophical frame of mind -To understand the issues we need to weigh and balance competing perspectives and values

Context

-Not limited to american society -All democracies have legal policies baring ethnic, racial, and religious discrimination, but most have not enacted AA programs enshrining an active effort to recruit 'minorities' in admissions, employment, etc. -Many countries Affirmative Action programs are enshrined in law to protect the privileges of the majority from competitive minorities. -American context, there was in place a policy of preferential treatment for White males:unfavorable to equally qualified or even better qualified minorities -There is no historic 'good old days' where things were fair and there was a level playing field.

The Problem

-We remain a society with serious problems of inequality, poverty, and race relations. -What is to be done? How do we, as a society, strive to undo the legacy of our unfortunate past? How do we promote equality, opportunity, fairness and justice? -(-)AA(+)Inequality:reasons for inequality and the disproportionate level of poverty among certain groups are not mainly due to racism and unfair discrimination. Rather, the inequalities are due to cultural attitudes. Really are inherent differences among various groups. *racist -Apologize and pay compensation. moral appeal theoretically, it would raise massive administrative problems such as defining who qualifies to receive how much compensation. Opens pandoras box for other ethnic groups that could request compensation -The consensus reached by numerous experts is to pursue a policy of AA in admissions, financial aid, and hiring. Temporary until ideals are met? -AA flawed but is best plan and doing nothing is not an option

Arguments For

-best policy to help remedy the situation -provides opportunity to those who lack it -provides young people with role models and hope, which can motivate them to aim high to achieve their goals -enrich an educational or work environment by facilitating diversity -will lead to positive consequences when minority professionals can return to serve their respective communities -in society's interest to do what it can to provide opportunities that will reduce the numbers of people who are unemployed, on welfare, incarcerated, etc -many factors relevant to selection process not just grades and standard scores -moral dimension:compensatory and distributive justice