The Affirmative Action Debate

by Cahn,Steven M.; Cahn,Steven M.

• ISBN13: 9780415938662
• ISBN10: 041593866X
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-07-05
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Affirmative action has been a divisive issue in the United States for close to thirty years. The controversy is alive today and the debate has intensified. This newly updated, highly readable collection provides an essential guide to the full range of arguments surrounding contemporary discussion of affirmative action making it a useful tool for students and general readers alike. Comprising nearly three decades of writing on the subject, the book follows the debate from early foundational articles to the most up-to-date opinions, and covers all the important stops in between.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. xi
Individuals, Groups, and Discrimination
Discrimination and Morally Relevant Characteristics	p. 3
Inverse Discrimination	p. 5
Reparations to Wronged Groups	p. 8
Reverse Discrimination and Compensatory Justice	p. 11
Reverse Discrimination	p. 17
Should Reparations Be to Individuals or to Groups?	p. 20
Reparations to Individuals or Groups?	p. 27
What's Wrong with Discrimination?	p. 30
Justice and Compensation
Preferential Hiring	p. 35
Preferential Hiring: A Reply to Judith Jarvis Thomson	p. 51
Justifying Reverse Discrimination in Employment	p. 58
Preferential Hiring and Compensation	p. 68
Compensatory Justice: The Question of Costs	p. 79
The Bakke Case
Who Are Equals?	p. 95
Bakke's Case: Are Quotas Unfair?	p. 103
What Did Bakke Really Decide?	p. 113
Equality, Diversity, and Good Faith	p. 124
Diversity
In Defense of Affirmative Action	p. 145
The Role Model Argument and Faculty Diversity	p. 153
Proportional Representation of Women and Minorities	p. 168
The Meaning of "Merit"	p. 176
Does Your "Merit" Depend upon Your Race? A Rejoinder to Bowen and Bok	p. 183
Diversity	p. 190
Preference or Impartiality?
In Favor of Affirmative Action	p. 209
Reverse Discrimination	p. 224
About the Authors	p. 231
Bibliographical Note	p. 233
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