Opponents refuse to accept the notion of historic injustice or group rights. Only individual have rights or commit wrongs they argue. Remedies should be for present victims of present wrongs. Once an academic consideration the debate over affirmative action has grown louder as the system has expanded from narrow confines to larger spheres of public life. Further, it has become more controversial as the list of groups subject to it has been expanded.
Most people think race when they think group preference affirmative action.
But in fact the greater number of beneficiaries may well be women. This has created a split among some supporters of affirmative action between racial minority leaders and leaders of women's groups. This may well illustrate one of the concerns of critics. This system of status based spoils tends to lead to intergroup conflicts not harmony.