The Economics of Race and Gender - The Role of Affirmative Action in Society - Term Paper Example

The Economics of Race and Gender - The Role of Affirmative Action in Society Introduction: In 1965, the orders of President Lyndon Johnson passed an executive order which required federal contractors to take affirmative action to ensure they were not discriminating among employees. Since then the US government has taken a number of steps to increase the inclusion and representation of women and other minorities in areas of employment, business, education etc. This has been developed in two paths, one being the legal path and the other path includes public debates. The contractors have been set down with time tables and goals to ensure that there were no racial or gender preferences in the selection processes. This paper aims at discussing the impact of Affirmative action in society. The main reason this topic has been chosen is that we live in very diverse societies and are faced with a very wide range of people every single day. With the increasing change of roles of households and the increasing recessions in place, there is a clear need to understand in depth the steps that are taken to positively represent the women and minorities. Impact of Affirmative Action on Society: Considering the beneficiaries of the Affirmative Action it is evident that the cause is very noble. Yes, it is true that the law was introduced and passed for the safety and need of many people in need. However considering the people involved and the amount of damage that it has on the society, there have been a number of doubts that have surfaced. The law has also stirred up a number of questions and has built up a number of doubts about the accuracy of the law. Kate Johns has in a very effective manner explained the same. She explains the case of Martin Luther King who had focused on what the person is worth in terms of skills, behavior and performance rather than on the color of the skin. As quoted by Johns, “Don't judge a man by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character” (Johns). Johns clearly brings out that the most negative aspect of the affirmative action on society is that it goes completely against the views of Martin Luther King. Although it was started with the intension of equalizing the employment and providing he minority with jobs, the main purpose is not being achieved. As explained by Johns, “People are actually being judged by their skin color and being place in jobs and higher places of learning due to their skin color, and their ethnic background” (Johns). It is essential to note that impact of the affirmative action is not completely negative in society and the actual intension of the law is clearly a good one. As explained by Mitchell W. Pearlman and Gregory Daniels, Affirmative action is effective as long as it is administered well into the society. Although most people within the society understand the intention of the law, in reality, the law is not doing well. Wendy McElroy has highlighted the positives of affirmative action and she explains that there are three main positives on society. Firstly, affirmative action focuses on the social good of the society. The focus is to ensure a utilitarian good is made on the society. Secondly, affirmative action has opened up opportunities for compensatory justice, which help ensure that victims of historical prejudice receive the compensation and so should the descendents of the victims. However this has been clearly objected as the descendents have in no way been victimized and hence do not deserve to get the compensation. Thirdly it has been noted that the law has been passed to provide the ideal of equality. Hence it is clear that affirmative action does have a positive impact on society as well. It is also beneficial to understand the views set down by Jason C. Nelson who explains that until the society is not able to eliminate all forms of prejudice based on race, caste, color creed etc., there is an everlasting need for affirmative action. He also moves on to explain that “affirmative action is that reactions are psychological and emotional, and are based on perceptions of reality, not on reality itself” (Nelson). However he also explains that there are a number of negative aspects of the affirmative action as well. The implementation of affirmative action can lead to people taking undue advantage of the law and even undeserving candidates with no form of merits can be placed while people with merits can be left out due to the bias. It is evident that although this law has been designed to help individuals and make the society an equal society, there are a number of loop holes in the overall law. The negative aspects of the law seem to override the positive intention and clearly, although in a number of cases the outcome of the law is positive and beneficial to the minority, there is also a high number of cases where the law has been taken for granted and has been misused under the pretext of affirmative action. Possible Improvements to Affirmative Action: As has been noted, the affirmative action has been criticized for a number of reasons and although the law has been passed with a strong and positive intention, the implication of the law has not been well received by the society. Hence in order to work on improvement of the law to meet the need of the society, the law can be changed. Firstly, as explained by Joe Klein, the definition of the law needs to be amended. There should be more focus on poverty rather than on pigments. It is crucial to note that there are a number of people across the country excluding African Americans and Latinos who are also very poor. Hence the law should focus more on providing assistance to the poor more than simple pigments. This will help in better equality attempts. Klein also explains that the system lacks a strong educational system for the poor. He suggests that applying better educational systems will assist the poor gain better education and thereby will allow amelioration of the injustice due to race and economics. Finally he also explains that the diverse American culture is one which is cherished by all as it truly is a competitive advantage in the global economy. Hence to be able to improve the affirmative action, it is essential to be able to falsify it. As explained by the author, “In the end, the conservatives may be right: racial distinctions should not be written into law” (Klein). Conclusions: As has clearly been noted in the above discussion the affirmative action has had a major impact on the societies of the country. In conclusion here an attempt has been made to identify whether or not the affirmative action should or should not be eliminated. There have been a number of reasons found to eliminate the affirmative action. These include the fact that the process leads to reverse discrimination, also it leads to reduced people with merits which in turn leads to lowered levels of performance. The elimination of the affirmative action can lead to color blind societies which in turn will lead to more equality (Messerli). This is also important that the law is removed as it undermines the actual performance of the minority achievements. On the contrary, this should not be eliminated as it allows the society to be more diverse and this is highly desirable. Also, this helps the society in focusing on jobs which they would otherwise never consider. Also finally, this is essential as it helps in compensating the minorities and free them from the slavery and oppression that they go through (Messerli). Hence in conclusion, it can clearly be noted that there has been a major influence on the society. Although not all positives, there is an equal balance in the implementation of the law. The law has been able to fight the moral threat for over thirty years now and hence it is essential that now this is taken into account. The affirmative action which aims at trying to make the society merely leads to the reverse discrimination and does not consider the needs of the majority. Works Cited Crook, Clive. Affirmative action shows the cracks. 08 January 2009. 07 November 2010 . Fullinwider, Robert. Affirmative Action. 1 April 2009. 07 November 2010 . Johns, Kate. The negative aspects of affirmative action. 2010. 07 November 2010 . Klein, Joe. Can We Improve on Affirmative Action? 10 December 2006. 07 November 2010 . McElroy, Wendy. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: What Does It Affirm? . 2010. 07 November 2010 . Messerli, Joe. Should affirmative action policies, which give preferential treatment based on minority status, be eliminated? 12 August 2010. 07 November 2010 . Nelson, Jason C. Affirmative Action - Its Got A Bad Reputation. 2010. 07 November 2010 . Pearlman, Mitchell W. and Gregory Daniels. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION BENEFITS ALL OF SOCIETY. 2010. 07 November 2010 . Soni, Vidu. Morality vs. Mandate: Affirmative Action in Employment. 22 December 1999. 07 Novemeber 2010 . Thompkins, Harold. The negative aspects of affirmative action. 2010. 07 November 2010 . Read More