Affirmative Action is Dead; Long Live Affirmative Action
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: March 10, 2004
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 352
ISBN-13: 9780300101294
Subjects: Ethnic studies; Human rights; Business & Economics; Politics / Current Events; Politics/International Relations; Educational Policy & Reform; Public Policy - Economic Policy; Public Policy - Social Policy; Political Science / Social Policy; Economics - General; Affirmative action programs in; Affirmative action programs in education; Discrimination in education; Discrimination in employment; Race discrimination; United States
First sentence: In October 1997, two White residents of the state of Michigan, Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher, filed a lawsuit in federal court against the University of Michigan.
Description: "Affirmative action is a much-debated policy, in employment as well as in education, in the Supreme Court as well as on the street. Yet as this book clearly shows, affirmative action is both sensible and effective, differing little from many other government programs that evoke no controversy. Why don't Americans wholeheartedly support affirmative action?" "This book answers this important question. It examines explanations put forth by social scientists, finding various degrees of truth in most of them. Some situate the problem in the policy itself, suggesting that affirmative action functions as a governmentally sanctioned form of reverse racism or sexism, or that is is ineffective or socially disruptive. Such explanations may sound plausible, but they are incorrect. Other explanations locate the problem in the people who react to the policy, citing studies that document the links between ignorance, prejudice, and opposition to affirmative action. Yet even well-informed egalitarian people sometimes oppose affirmative action." "So what is the problem? The book concludes by proposing that the American failure to endorse wholeheartedly what is a fair and an effective policy arises, ironically, from Americans' infatuation with justice. Smitten with the concept of merit, we are perturbed by a policy that invites us to recognize the complications of social justice."--BOOK JACKET.