Topic:	Affirmative Action
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Guest:	Elizabeth Anderson , Professor of Philosophy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
What is it?	Is affirmative action a way of balancing out inequality? Or is it just another form of bias in admissions and hiring practices? And where's the line between fostering diversity and lowering standards?

About the Guest

Professor Anderson conducts research in two broad areas. One concerns theories of value and rationality and their relationship to political institutions, particularly markets and democratic organizations. Her book, Value in Ethics and Economics (Harvard University Press, 1993), explores the plurality of values and the ethical limitations of the market. She is currently investigating the relations between moral and political values, especially those involving gender and race, and social practices of inquiry and justification. Professor Anderson has also written on social choice theory and the history of ethics and political philosophy.

Professor Anderson's resources on affirmative action:

• Bibliography on Race, Gender and Affirmative Action

• Geography of Race in the United States

Listening Notes

Two of the points of affirmative action are to overcome past discrimination and promote diversity. Does it entail reverse racism? Ken introduces Elizabeth Anderson, professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Does affirmative action compensate for past wrongs to ethnic groups? Anderson does not think that affirmative action can compensate specific individuals since it does not look at personal experiences. She sees it as a way of dismantling institutions in society that discriminate, such as “old boy” networks. Is integration the same thing as diversity? Originally they were used synonymously, but now “diversity” has other meanings attached to it. Does it matter if we think in terms of diversity instead of in terms of integration? Anderson thinks diversity talk has lead the public astray in higher education. One of the legacies of diversity talk is that you cannot limit affirmative action to racial minorities.

Anderson is in favor of integration because segregation blocks access to opportunities and resources. The segregation argument does not work for groups that want to stay segregated, like Native Americans, and women. Women have historically been occupationally segregated. A lot of current discrimination is fueled by private institutions, like real estate agents, exercising private rights. Does affirmative action along racial lines prevent diversity along class lines? Anderson thinks that rectifying race discrimination is more important than class problems today.

Society takes many illegitimate factors as important. Why can't we use race and gender as two of those factors for making decisions? John thinks that the best affirmative action argument admits that we live in an elitist society, but maintains that we need to have diversity among the elites. John asks if affirmative action is in conflict with our individualistic ideals and values. Anderson thinks that meritocracies make decisions based on group generalizations, such as test scores. Ken asks why so much social heat and discussion has been generated by affirmative action. At the top levels, there may not have been much effect on white people, but there has been a larger effect in the blue-collar job arena. Should the government censor or promote certain portrayals of minority groups?

• Amy Standen the Roving Philosophical Reporter (Seek to 04:19): Amy Standen interviews a lawyer in San Francisco about the city's public contracting policy which now includes affirmative action clauses. She also interviews a lawyer who is challenging San Francisco's policy.

• Conundrum (Seek to 47:45): Gordon Earle, produce of Philosophy Talk, asks when do you give up a friendship because your friend has been accused of something really bad? Why should someone break off a friendship based on a friend's action? Does this say something about the friend's character? What is a friendship for?

Additional Resources

• The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
  • entry on affirmative action
  • entry on equality
  • entry on distributive justice

• The American Association for Affirmative Action

• An affirmative action research website

• The NOW page on the origins of affirmative action

• The website of the Center for Individual Rights

• The University of Michigan page on affirmative action in higher education

• The US Commission on Civil Rights

• Arguments for and against affirmative action

• An affirmative action timeline

• A history of affirmative action

• Another history of affirmative action

• An anthology entitled Affirmative Action: Social Justice or Reverse Discrimination?

• Terry Anderson's history of affirmative action, The Pursuit of Fairness

• An anthology entitled The Affirmative Action Debates

• Another anthology, The Affirmative Action Debate

• Thomas Sowell's Affirmative Action: An Empirical Study

• Christopher Edley's book, Not All Black and White: Affirmative Action and American Values

• Michael Rosenfield's overview of affirmative action, Affirmative Action and Justice

• Charles Lawrence and Mari Matsuda's book We Won't Go Back: Making the Case for Affirmative Action

• Tim Wise's book Affirmative Action: Racial Preferences in Black and White