Diversity
(Fred Speaking)

 
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I haven't been very impressed by the benefits mentioned, and I think you're pointing to serious problems with the argument.

Stephen Carter had some interesting things to say about this argument. He believes in carefully executed affirmative action, but he is suspicious of the diversity movement. In his view, it has become popular because it is convenient for well-to-do blacks. The compensation argument did not seem to apply to those folks, but the diversity argument is perfect. It makes race itself a qualification. They don't need high SAT scores and they don't need to demonstrate the impact of discrimination. They just need to be black.

But it requires using race as a proxy for ideas, which I think is a mistake.

Reference: Carter discusses the diversity argument in Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby. He rejects the idea that there is a black "way to be" or a black "viewpoint."

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