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(Fred Speaking) | ||||||
MAIN PATH: Malik | |||||||
I could point out a dozen more problems with the kind of strong affirmative action that Ann and Malik are beginning to hint at. Their program is so broad that it would compensate anyone who is black. But you know as well as I do that the black middle and upper middle class has grown quite a bit in the last 20 years. The children of that class are entering college and the job market. Why should they receive anything more than color-blind treatment? Not only are they too young to have been the victims of much discrimination, but their families have more money than most whites. How can it be fair to give them a preference for a job?
Let's go back to our principles again. No matter which principle of compensation we look at, the goal is to put people in the position they would be in if fair play had been the rule. We can take the position of the average white family as a rough goal. Consider a young black man from an upper middle income family. His family is already better off financially than the average white family. His parents probably have more education than average white parents. In a word, he is already in a better position than most blacks would be in if fair play had been the rule. All he need do now is work hard and be judged without regard to color. He doesn't need or deserve any preference.
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