The New Affirmative Action: Implications in Education and the Workplace

For years, the anti-discrimination policy known as affirmative action has been a part of American social policy in reducing poverty and discrimination among minorities and women. Cornel West, of Princeton University describes in Race Matters the progressive nature of policies such as affirmative action.

“The historic role of American progressives is to promote redistributive measures that enhance the standard of living and quality of life for the have-nots and have-too-littles. Affirmative action was one such redistributive measure that surfaced in the heat of battle in the 1960s among those fighting for equality. Like earlier defacto affirmative action measures in the past – contracts, jobs, and loans to select immigrant groups granted by political machines; subsidies to certain farmers; FHA mortgages to specific homebuyers; or GI Bill benefits to particular courageous Americans – recent efforts to broaden access to America’s prosperity have been based upon preferential policies…Every redistributive measure is a compromise with and concession from the caretakers of American prosperity – that is, big business and big government. Affirmative action was one such compromise and concession…”