Affirmative Action: In The Context Of Racial Discrimination

During 40 years'implementation of affirmative action, the debates have gone through several stages. The thesis first has an introduction to the historical background for affirmative action, which establishes the ground for the assessment of the race-conscious affirmative action from moral perspective. The thesis reveals that as its original intention is to achieve the inclusiveness of all the minorities in a society with equal opportunity for all, the purposes of―social integration‖provide the moral permissibility. But such moral permissibility does not give good reasons for―quotas‖which is not necessary for the development of blacks. The thesis further analyzes decisions of the US Supreme Court on the racial preferences admission programs in universities, and explores the―diversity‖as a pretext for racial preferences in higher education because the Justices know that preferential policies are still needed to end racial discrimination. But they are not permanently necessary, because the nature of race-conscious affirmative action predestined its end when racial discrimination is eliminated. According to the proposals under the Bush's administration and the records of Obama's interviews during his presidential election campaign, the thesis concluded that the racial affirmative action has started clinging to the need-based programs and its racial color will continue to fade.