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Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action

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Affirmative Action
Our society has built a nation based on a moral golden rule, which states “treat others the way you would like to be treated.” Unfortunately, this golden rule isn’t always represented in the discrimination experienced by many women and minorities. Affirmative action attempts to increase the representation of those who have been historically excluded in employment, education, and culture as a result of this discrimination by giving them preferential treatment. This effort to restore equality is noble, but actually achieves the opposite. Giving preference towards minorities, especially in universities, is immoral because it does not reward individuals based on their qualifications. Instead, it rewards those who have been identified as …show more content…

If we continue to give preference to these minorities rather than those who have worked hard for their merits and are exemplary candidates, the prestige of attending a university is lost and is instead a compensation for wrongdoings when it should be an honor rewarded to students for their hard work, intelligence, and ambition.
Those in favor of affirmative action look at present and future scenarios in order to accommodate for prejudices that stem from past conceptions and judgments with respect to race or sex. Arguments from a justice point of view look at three fundamental types or justice: compensatory (backward-looking), discrimination blocking (present-oriented), and integrative (forward-looking) (Anderson). As humans, we have an implicit bias, or unconscious mechanisms that influence prejudice. This bias can come in the form of placing stereotypes on an individual based on name, socioeconomic status, or other defining characteristics. Although not always intentional, these biases are there and can often interfere with our

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