Arguments Against Affirmative Action

Jared Gatchalian

Phil 186

Section 18A

Final Paper

Taking into consideration the arguments for and against affirmative action presented in ‘A Defense of Programs of Preferential’ and ‘Affirmative action on campus does more harm than good’, do you think that affirmative action programs are morally justifiable and socially beneficial? Explain and support your position In institutions, workplaces, businesses, colleges and universities, affirmative action programs are policies that provide equal opportunity to education or work for groups that have been historically excluded or underrepresented, such as members of minority group: women and nonwhite citizens. I agree that in the past, affirmative action has been beneficial to the country because

There are a lot of African-Americans, Hispanics, and women that are successful in business, science, and agriculture. Now, affirmative action is neither morally justifiable nor socially beneficial. Affirmative action divides the workplace, institutions, and universities into groups because race and sex are taken into consideration. In any institutions or universities, there should not be any minorities. Gender and race should not matter. Being called a minority, alone, is intellectually demeaning even though that so called minority is equally or more qualified than a member of a majority group. As stated by Richard Wasserstrom in ‘A Defense of Programs of Preferential’, “Opponents of preferential treatment programs sometimes assert that proponents of these programs are guilty of intellectual inconsistency, if not racism or

It is unreasonable and does not validate present discrimination against white Americans from the past discrimination of minority groups. John Rawls explained that justice is a virtue of social institutions, measured by fairness in allocating benefits and burdens. Hence, giving equal opportunity to all the citizens and not giving any edge to the minorities. Another bad effect of affirmative action is that meritocracy is not the number 1 requirement in admissions and hiring procedures. Instead, race is one of the main factors. It should be based on skills, grades, test scores and moral values. The quota system is also one of the policies of affirmative action. This implies that a certain number of women and minorities are chosen regardless of qualifications. A lot of white Americans lose their jobs and college admittance to less qualified minorities. This is bad for universities and society because universities produce less knowledgeable degree holders and employers gain incompetent and incapable employees, thus resulting in lesser productivity in businesses. It is also not good for the students or workers because it lowers their self-esteem. Affirmative action emphasizes racism because of this. If people are being hired because of affirmative action, knowing that they are not capable of performing the requirements for the job, it implies that all people of that race are stupid and that they