Arguments Against Affirmative Action

Affirmative action is the policy of increasing representation of minorities in areas such as employment, education, and culture which they have been historically excluded. These policies often involve preferential selection, affirmative action thus generates intense controversy.

I will evaluate affirmative action in one of the most widely debated areas of minorities in university admissions in the States using GR-type reasoning. University admissions initiated affirmative action in the 1970s due to the lack of the disadvantaged minorities within the student body, especially the African-Americans. Few of these blacks met the criteria to enter universities with their low test scores. The main purpose of the policy is to help those from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are usually the blacks. Diversity is another common reason to justify the preferential …show more content…
For a white and a black with the same test score lower than the average score, the latter will now have an advantage due to his race regardless if he is more disadvantaged. Using the Golden Rule reasoning, if I am in the situation of the black with this current mindset, I would not advocate for affirmative action. As a black, I might face a lack of respect by getting into the school based on my race rather than abilities. If the affirmative action is meant to help the disadvantaged, then preferential admissions should be on the basis of disadvantaged. If the affirmative action is meant to promote diversity, then preferences should be based on unusual characteristics. The justification for preferential admissions solely based on race is just another form of discrimination that does not address the core of the issue of disadvantaged students. Having affirmative action favouring the blacks would serve to harm the whites who are more disadvantaged than the