Discrimination and Affirmative Action
نویسنده
چکیده
The word discrimination is used loosely to encapsulate negative ideas surrounding the practice. In the case of affirmative action admissions policies at the University of Michigan, discrimination is used to justify an unjust practice. Generally, when affirmative action is debated, it is considered from a singular perspective (i.e., it is wrong or it is right). Most ignore that admissions policies are discriminatory; they are designed to discriminate. In this case, a one-dimensional view is inadequate and leaves the argument with too many confounding variables and holes. Thus, an examination of affirmative action must look at discrimination from all sides, in the third dimension. The following pages will take a multifaceted approach to the affirmative action debate. The first goal will be to establish a working definition of discrimination. Next, different types of discrimination (particularly those based on truth and those based on erroneous beliefs) will be distinguished. Third, issues surrounding positive and negative discrimination will be explored. Once this definition is delineated and the different types of discrimination are outlined, it becomes possible to examine what types of policies are consistent with appropriate discrimination. We will see that affirmative action is not consistent with, though it may purport to be, acceptable forms of discrimination. Affirmative action does not comport with the claims it makes. Finally, affirmative action will be shown to be fundamentally flawed, both in principle and practice.
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تاریخ انتشار 2004