Racial Discrimination & Tragedy Of Commons

Front 1

Tragedy of Commons

Back 1

-When everyone can freely use something it gets destroyed.
-Need to reexamine our individual freedoms to see which ones are defensible.
Ex: Public parks, pollution

Front 2

Positive and negative component of herdsman

Back 2

Positive component- A function of the increment of one animal. The proceeds from the sale of the additional animal, the positive utility is nearly +1.

Negative component- A function of the additional overgrazing created by one more animal. The effects of overgrazing are shared by all the herds men, the negative utility for any particular decision-making herdsman is only a fraction of -1.

Front 3

Racial discrimination
-equal treatment
-Affirmative action
-Preferential Treatment

Back 3

equal treatment- Same access to everything. No special help to anyone.
Affirmative action- programs beyond passive acceptance of equal opportunity: active recruitment, support fro new hires from minority groups.
Preferential treatment- Preference of one due to their minority status.

Front 4

Color-blindness (Haslett)

Back 4

Is generally how a company should operate, but in somer rare cases race may be a legitimate factor in determining whether or not to hire someone.

Front 5

Civil Rights act of 1964

Back 5

Made it illegal for an employer with 15 or more employees to discriminate against someone on basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, and now also pregnancy, age, or disability.

Front 6

Arguments for/against affirmative action:

Back 6

-are usually based on either justice/utilitarian concerns.

Front 7

Why affirmative action? considerations:

Back 7

1. equal treatment
2. Justice for past discrimination
3. diverse society is better for society
4. always acting fairly brings about most happiness for society at large.

Front 8

Defense of AA (Nagel)

Back 8

Weak: special efforts to ensure equal opportunity (level playing field)
strong: definite preference, quotas, etc.
-Strong AA is undesirable, but necessary.

Front 9

3 objections to strong AA:

Back 9

-inefficient
-unfair
-damages self-esteem

Front 10

Why blacks suffer more from AA than they gain (Shelbey Steele)

Back 10

1. by making black the color of preference, these laws make us less color-blind.
2. Diversity is not the same thing as proportionate representation.
3. Demoralization
4. AA encourages blacks to exploit their own past victimization.
5. Price of illusion

-Steele says that the real help will come not through AA, but through educational and economic development (learning) of disadvantaged people.

Front 11

What we need to do: in terms of sexual harassment (Susan Dobbs).

Back 11

1. Show a connection between harassment in general and sexual harassment.
2. Distinguish between sexual harassment and legitimate sexual interaction.
3. Assist in guiding policy on sexual harassment.

Front 12

Disabled right to work (def.)
and...
Special opportunities for disabled.

Back 12

-Is a prima facie moral right (rooted in morals, not merely law, but can be overridden by economic considerations.

Special opportunities for disabled:
1. Right of non discrimination
2. Right to compensatory training and education
3. Right to reasonable investments to make jobs accessible.
4. Minimal (tie-brekaing) affirmative action.

-arguments against are primarily economic-efficiency-based.

Front 13

Quid Pro Quo Harassment:

Back 13

Pressured fro sexual favors as a condition for work or benefits or advancement.

Front 14

Hostile Environment

Back 14

Unwelcome advances or sexual, verbal and physical conduct which create an intimidating work environment.

Front 15

Sexual harassment need not necessarily:

Back 15

-entail sexual discrimination
-Be against the interest of the harassee (benefits)
-Involve a misuse of power
-involve intention or any particular state of mind.

Front 16

Sexual harassment

Back 16

-BEHAVIOR is what constitutes sexual harassment.
-A behavior which is typically associated with a mental state representing an attitude which seeks sexual ends without any concern for the person from whom those ends are sought, and which typically produces an unwanted and unpleasant response in the person.

Front 17

Gender discrimination

Back 17

When a person is treated as lesser simply because of their gender (not due to their skills or actual capacities). Women often get less for the same work, and if they do different work, the type of work normally done by women has lower wages.

Front 18

What we should use as criteria for comparison (pay grades for different people, secretary v. CEO):

Back 18

-accountability
-knowledge and skills
-mental demands
-working conditions

Front 19

Problems which perpetuate low wages for women:

Back 19

1- Inconsistent in justifying pay differences.
2- We don't value women's innate skills.
3- Claim that market dictates (people accept pay, so its just...)
-supply often irrelevant to low pay.
-Women don't just work for money- considerations.