Affirmative Action: Social Justice or Reverse Discrimination?

By: Francis J. Beckwith

Book Overview

What is our goal: equal opportunity or equality of result? The debate rages on.The November 5, 1996 decision by voters in California to eliminate most forms of state sanctioned affirmative action ignited a civil rights debate that sent shock waves across the country. The vote had critics celebrating the dawn of a new era of equal rights, while opponents warned of school and workplace discrimination without the protective blanket of affirmative action.The question of racial equality has inspired new debate today, reminiscent of the conflicts of the 1960s. Again we ask ourselves: Is affirmative action necessary to maintain equal labor practices, school desegregation plans, and broad social standards of racial equality? Does affirmative action or laws to roll it back go against the idea of equality itself? Should race play an important role in college admissions and corporate hiring? Is affirmative action a poison instead of a cure? For some, it depends on how the term is defined.These and other questions are debated in this highly charged collection of essays by a distinguished group of politicians, philosophers, educators, and others including Tom Beauchamp, Ward Connerly, Ronald Dworkin, Stanley Fish, Lyndon Johnson, Nicholas LeMann, Louis Pojman, George Sher, Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, Judith Jarvis Thomson, Richard Wasserstrom, Cornell West, and Steven Yates. Included also are important legal decisions bearing on affirmative action.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573921572
• ISBN13: 9781573921572
• Release Date: September 1997
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Very good overview of the subject, but an updated edition would be great

In the landscape of American life, are there any social problems more vexing and more persistent than those involving race? The answer, clearly, is no, and within the racial realm, few issues stir more heated controversy than does affirmative action. (Although later amended to include women, affirmative action began as an effort chiefly to redress the social, educational and economic grievances of black Americans that are rooted in racial discrimination, and the ongoing debate remains primarily focused on race, rather than gender.) The myriad connotations attached to the term, arising from the widely varied policies and programs instituted under the rubric of affirmative action, have muddied the waters of discourse and fueled venomous exchanges between proponents and opponents of race-conscious remedies. As a result, discussions of affirmative action on the popular level (e.g. radio talk shows and coffee break conversations) often tend toward emotion-driven ad hominem attacks, and seldom contribute to increased understanding or any closing of the ideological gap. Even the Supreme Court justices have demonstrated the difficulty of trying to approach the complexities of A.A. with any degree of consistency, and their rulings have therefore tended to add fuel to the rhetorical fire, rather than tempering or extinguishing it. In the midst of such rancor and confusion, Beckwith and Jones' book is refreshing. Co-edited by men on opposite sides of the issue whose maturity has nevertheless enabled them to work congenially together, the book is what Fox News only claims to be: fair and balanced. It is comprised of separate (and generally very clearly written) essays on affirmative action by authors from various points along the ideological spectrum and from different academic disciplines (or, as in the case of anti-affirmative action firebrand Ward Connerly, from no area of discernible academic expertise). The result is a nuanced book that looks at A.A. in terms of its philosophical underpinnings, its history from a governmental and legal perspective, and a number of concrete, specific issues connected with it. The co-editors have chosen a subtitle--"Social Justice or Reverse Discrimination?"--that reflects how affirmative action is generally framed (respectively) by its proponents and its opponents, thereby exemplifying even in the book's title how linguistic labels are often used to shape attitudes regarding matters of controversy. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone looking for a clearer understanding of what affirmative action is and is not. Whether you are (like me) a staunch advocate of affirmative action, a vehement opponent of A.A., or someone with no definite stance on the issue who simply wants to move beyond the sound-bite level of discourse toward a deeper understanding of affirmative action and the controversy surrounding it, you will find much of value in this book. If you already stand firmly on one side of the issue or the othe

Clueless in Seattle

Beckwith and Jones perform an excellent service by admitting to the difficulty of this important issue by sharing intelligent observations from both sides of the table. "Reader in Seattle" is just another clueless woman whose ignorant comments admit to her bigotry.Intelligent, open-minded readers will enjoy this collection.

Not useful to those of us combatting sexism and racism

Gender, race, and class are what A.A. addresses, not the hurt feelings of a few clueless white males. As a feminist who happens to be a white Woman, I'm challenging the paradigms of gender and race imposed upon us by elitist white males. As a graduate of Stanford, I renew my committment to fighting those people who would take diversity away from our campuses, not just in California but everywhere. Let's rememeber then, someday white males will need Affirmative Action!!!!