Lawrence Thomas Hill Affirmative Action Analysis

In this essay, I will be objecting to the use of affirmative action—a policy that aims to favor members of certain groups who are perceived to suffer from discrimination in society—with the help of Thomas Hill’s The Message of Affirmative Action. In addition, I will be arguing against certain arguments in What Good Am I? by Laurence Thomas. In The Message of Affirmative Action, Hill argues against affirmative action, claiming that it can easily convey the wrong message to everyone involved. For example, the women and minorities that it is meant to help may see it as something that hints that they cannot make it on their own without significant intervention. On the other hand, white males may see affirmative action as something that gives unfair preferential treatment to those women and minorities. Hill himself isn’t entirely opposed to affirmative action, but notes that we need to

Generally, fewer lower class people than middle and upper class people pursue a higher education. Poverty itself is something that tends to disproportionately affect minorities.1 This is something that affirmative action policies fail to address. By accidental convenience, they tend to benefit the individuals who are in the middle and upper classes of society, people who, arguably, don’t need nearly as much help as low-income people. The reason I bring this up is because, in What Good Am I?, Thomas’ primary reason for supporting affirmative action is based on how he believes that universities and other educational institutions need to be diverse. As far as the need for diversity is concerned, I agree with Thomas. However, I would also argue that one of the main flaws of affirmative action is that it strives to bring out an immediate change in appearance, while ignoring the factors that lead to and result from