A Case Agianst Affirmative Action

Affirmative action would be said to be appropriate for the simple reason that non-White Americans - African American in particular - face institutionalized social disadvantage as compared to those of the majority. It would be further argued that some mechanism for taking these social disadvantages into account must be provided for in college admissions policies. After all, without any form of preferential treatment whatsoever, the ratio of majority to minority students would become vastly disproportionate compared to that of the general population in favor of White students. This fact alone, some would argue, is evidence in itself that institutionalized social disadvantages not only exist, but that also as a matter of justice, should be taken into account in college admissions. .
             At first glance, affirmative action certainly appears to be not only unfair to members of the White majority, but also a contradiction of the very principle of equality upon which it rests. After taking into consideration the complexity of social disadvantages, however, one realizes that a means for taking these disadvantages into account in college admissions (which inevitably reflects future success) is not as unreasonable as it once may have seemed. In this sense, social disadvantage is taken into account much the same way as an applicant's SAT score . The real question most proponents of affirmative action would find appropriate is not whether affirmative action is unfair to White people, but rather whether social disadvantage is a legitimate personal qualification to be taken into account with regard to college admissions (which they say it is). .
             The real case against affirmative action, however, is not that the special treatment of minorities is unfair to White students, or that social disadvantage is an inappropriate qualification for college admission, but rather that the special treatment of White applicants will reap consequences contrary to its own goals by widening the social gap between minorities and majorities.