Naked Racial Preference: The Case Against Affirmative Action

by Carl Cohen

Overview

From landmark court cases on affirmative action to their consequences, a study on why such preferences are morally wrong, unlawful, and indefensible.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781568330532
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/12/1995
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.16(w) x 9.24(h) x 0.76(d)

Table of Contents

Prologue: What Is Affirmative Action?	1
A. Racial Preference in Law School Admissions	7
DeFunis v	Odegaard
1. Race and the Constitution	11
B. Racial Preference in Medical School Admissions	39
Regents of the University of California v	Bakke
2. Who Are Equals?	45
3. Equality, Diversity, and Good Faith	55
C. Racial Preference in Employment	81
Steelworkers v	Weber
4. Why Racial Preference Is Illegal and Immoral	85
5. Justice Debased: The Weber Decision	115
D. Quotas, Goals, and Ethnic Proportionality	145
Wygant v	Jackson Board of Education
6. Naked Racial Preference	149
E. Heads of the Hydra	169
From Firefighters to Adarand (1984 - 1995)
7. Preference as a Remedy for Racial Injury	173
8. When Is a Racial Remedy Justifiable?	177
9. When Is a Governmental Interest Compelling?	181
10. Racial Preference through Set-Asides	185
11. Racial Preference by Federal Policy	195
12. The Road to Hell Is Paved with Good Intentions	211
Epilogue: The Future of Affirmative Action	229
Postscript	235
About the Author	243

Editorial Reviews

Cohen (Civil Disobedience), a philosophy professor at the University of Michigan, offers carefully argued critiques of what he calls the often-contorted reasoning behind judicial decisions upholding affirmative action. In this collection (mainly articles previously published in law reviews and magazines such as Commentary), Cohen deconstructs notable cases (e.g., Bakke and Weber) and analyzes such issues as the vaguely defined legal standards (e.g., a ``compelling'' government interest). However, Cohen's antipathy toward racial preference does not extend to other preferential programs (What about gender? Alumni legacies?), and his proffered solution-policies that do not involve classification by race-doesn't necessarily address our society's embedded racism. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly