To answer the question you will need to do the following:Read Chapter 11Read (12th) 577-580 or (13th) 589-594 “A defense of Programs of Preferential Treatment”
Listen to Intelligence Squared at http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/past-debates/item/1054-
affirmative-action-on-campus-does-more-harm-than-good “Affirmative Action on campus does more harm than good”
Affirmative action programs are programs that take the race or sex of employees or candidatesinto account, designed to correct imbalances in employment that exist directly as a result of pastdiscrimination, either on the part of the company itself or the public in general. These much-
debated programs reflect the justice system’s recognition that job discrimination can exist even
in the absence of conscious intent to discriminate.
Taking into consideration the arguments for and against affirmative action presented in ‘A Defense of Programs of Preferential Treatment and ‘Affirmative action on campus does more harm than good’, do you think that affirmative action programs are morally justifiable andsocially beneficial? Explain and support your position.
