What is Affirmative Action?
(John Speaking)
 
 

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Before we take our common sense ideas about compensation and apply them to the case of blacks in America, I think we should decide what we mean by affirmative action. What are we really talking about? Affirmative action includes dozens of different policies adopted by many different kinds of institutions. Almost everyone supports some of the policies while others are much more controversial. We have to decide what we're talking about before we can decide whether it is fair. Let's just think for a minute of the different policies that have been referred to as "affirmative action."

In some cases affirmative action has meant taking steps to be sure that no one is treated differently because of their race or sex. Sometimes, for example, a company puts both black and white people on hiring committees. The idea isn't to give a preference to anyone, but to make it more difficult for prejudice to operate. In other cases, affirmative action has meant making sure that information is circulated to people who had been discriminated against in the past. For example, employers may put ads in black newspapers or advertise as "equal opportunity" employers.
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