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The Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action

989 Words4 Pages

Minorities are found all over the world, and tend to be disadvantaged; Brown and Langer recognize this and address the attempts that have been made to equalize lives through affirmative action. The disadvantages around the world, along with the affirmation tactics, vary from place to place, but some of the main places analyzed in the article, “Does Affirmation Action Work”, are the United States, Malaysia, South Africa, and India. Through analyzing some of these places, Brown and Langer were able to identify some of the negative and positive aspects of affirmative action. One of the first things to consider is what affirmation actually does. It is intended to help readdress inequality, but unfortunately this process sometimes highlights …show more content…

One instance of this is when George W. Bush referred to it as the “soft bigotry or low expectations” (53). This statement suggests that the poor should be upheld to the same standards and expectations as the rest. According to these standards, minorities should work their way from the bottom up without the extra help. There are two ways to look at this idea, and it is up for the individual to decide whether or not giving the extra help is okay or not. The first view is realizing that minorities often face more challenges than the average person, but secondly there is also the fact that the extra help can be taken advantage of. Just as most things in the world, this is probably a case that requires a fine balance between taking affirmative action, and stepping back to prevent corruption. Affirmative action can help many people, and in some cases not the intended ones. Unfortunately there have been cases of corrupt entrepreneurs manipulating the process to benefit them instead of the people who actually need the help. Along with that, Brown and Langer also made the statement that “the equation is simple: more benefits to more people, equals more votes”, which is one of the reasons why various forms of aid get so manipulated (54). To prevent this, the article suggests emphasizing that affirmation needs to target the poor and keep it out of the wealthy’s

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