Affirmative Action and Public Policy

Paper Summary:

The first part of the paper, examines how the liberal camp's belief in the "disparate impact theory of discrimination" conflicts with the more conservative view of equality based on access to the same opportunities. When affirmative action was first enacted, the liberals were successful in enshrining the disparate impact approach.
The second part of this paper looks at the impact this disparate impact approach has on both the political and judicial landscape. The most evident problem of affirmative action as it is currently practiced is seen in the backlash effect. In the last section, the paper evaluates the possibility of a unified definition of equality being enshrined in affirmative action principles.

From the Paper:

"In the book Equality Transformed, Herman Belz (1991) presents two clashing views on the nature of equality. One theory, which Belz associates with conservatives such as Mississippi senator John Stennis, saw equality as a question of individual rights. The focus was on nondiscrimination, in providing equality of opportunities in areas such as employment. By removing the obstacles to discrimination, many conservative theorists believed that every person " black or white " would thus have equal opportunities for advancement."

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