Affirmative Action in America - Essay Example

Study of Affirmative Action in America Introduction Affirmative action has been a long debated topic in the American context. The main applications of equality were seen more in developing countries like China and India before developed countries opened up to it. It can be safely said that the main reason behind the adoption of affirmative action in developed economies is owing to the fact that developing countries have exhibited super fast growth using the approach. In America, a great many forces and influences slowed down the adoption speed of affirmative action in different spheres of the society and through this paper we try to discover each cause using the research and thesis brought forward by eminent political philosophers. Understanding Affirmative Action To be able to understand affirmative action and its consequences completely, one must study the growth of the concept over the years. Also known as positive discrimination wherein a section of the society that is usually under-represented in the country is given a hiring advantage over the general members of that society, be it at workplace, in education or elsewhere. The specific example of India shows that members of Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes are dedicated a fixed quota of the whole number of seats available in an opening. The positive aspect of this reservation (De Zwart, 2000, p.239) is that the under-represented section of Indian society has representatives n all educational, employment related and political spheres of the society. Many eminent thinkers, politicians and scientists have emerged from this reserved section of society, helping the country achieve great heights in science and technology. Positive discrimination or affirmative action is practiced in different ways in different countries. We shall now examine the American perspective and watch how history shows us a definite growth in America’s workplace ethics based on affirmative action. The American Content: Positive Discrimination Retold According to many thinkers, the call for affirmative action in American society was first felt or rather expressed in the Civil Rights Movements that led to the Civil Rights Act in 1964. John F Kennedy had signed the Executive Order 10925 in 1961 announcing the use of equality measures to drive the potential of young revolting unemployed Americans who demanded equal treatment in the workplace and elsewhere. While a major chunk of the world was already using positive discrimination by then, America adopted this approach very slowly and has been very steady in its use of the laws pertaining to affirmative action. Although President Johnson who took over from Kennedy in 1965 made immediate amendments in increasing the working potential of the Act, the main impact is has made till date in the American society is to bring in equality amongst genders in American workplaces. The impact of affirmative action on equalizing people from different races as it has been in creating better opportunities for women (MacLean, 2006, p.20). Lately, however, affirmative action has been seen to impact existence and workplace opportunities for people from different ethnic groups, cultures and races, working in the American society. According to Nancy MacLean, the slowness in establishment of affirmative action in America can be attributed to the confusion over the status of races which were present in large numbers but not considered equal to the white population in America. Prominent amongst these races were Jewish and Mexican Americans, both groups bringing up initial dilemma in allowing the government to be happy with the status provided to members of those groups. Jewish populations had another step ahead with their disregard and complaints of the working of the American judicial system. The establishment of a neutral psychology towards African Americans was another major concern in the American society which boasted of technological and corporate development but under-utilized the talent lying with races whose origins were either Jewish, Mexican or African. In Nancy MacLean’s book “Freedom is not Enough: The Opening Up of the American Workplace” (2008), the assessment of the impact of affirmative action in the American society is authoritatively presented, but fail to sound complete. The reason behind this review is that even today, many sections of the American society complain of racist behavior against them and finding a solution through strategic promotion and placement of eminent people from under-represented races does not make up for the gross injustice that the many unemployed members of these races are crying hoarse about. The Impact of Affirmative Action In America: An Assessment That Demands More MacLean’s work has been long appreciated as a path finder in the area of equality and positive discrimination since it addressed the issue way back in 1988. While many thinkers and political workers took inspiration from the book, it has been seen that key aspects which remain unresolved today are those which were never mentioned or discussed in MacLean’s book. Here is a report of the areas in which MacLean’s book triumphed in the task of representing the cause and areas in which her book failed to completely assess the impact. Impact Predictions: While studying the different acts and laws set up to initiate affirmative action, MacLean’s book makes a few mistakes in predicting the impact of the law in the American society. We must note here that the American government sets up laws after watching the legal protocol work with positive outcomes in other countries. However, given the wide diversity of races settled in America, MacLean just like the government fails to realize the challenges (Mac Lean, 2008, 258) that lay after the foundation of these laws. The main onus is on political thinkers to observe the impact and while watching job place competition and productivity grow, everybody thought of the positive impact it was expected to have. People forgot to mention the negative impacts this would have on individual ethnic groups inside which competition would increase manifold and lead to demand for more affirmative action protocols. A good thing that the American government did was to establish hat people from the under-represented classes would have privilege to a position than general classes. Women have seriously gone from being the cornered clerical staff in a company to top job holders who know their business better than even their male counterparts. However, in terms of racial equality the same equivocal representation of classes has not happened. People within the race have taken to competing amongst themselves in a negative way, which although adds up productivity in the long run to the company that hires, reduces the moral and ethical values of the group, race or culture. Union Leadership: The performance of union leaderships, the manner in which they would succeed in representing the labor force of a company, the protection representatives of selected races placed in the leadership would provide for other members of their race in the workforce (Green, 2009, 34) are very well studied and represented in the book. MacLean has correctly brought in the success of selecting members of discriminated races into the union leadership but there were no predictions or protocols set to further the cause of these members into positions in the company beyond the union leadership (MacLean, 2008, 143). Very few examples of progress have been seen in American companies where members of these races were promoted from the union leadership to directorial posts in the company. Cause of the Hispanics: Hispanics consist of around 24 percent of the workforce in America wherein 13.8 percent belong to African Americans and 11.1 percent belong to Hispanics. The crucial factor that sets their working quality from the rest of the workforce in America is their sheer dedication, ability to work and deliver results no matter what the deadline is. As a result, many African Americans and Hispanics have landed top jobs in the companies operating in America, But this is a far cry from the thousands who are struggling to make a decent living in society where they are respected as equal citizens by the judicial system, while they earn a median income and thrive to earn through businesses run in the family. The level of unemployment went further high in these sections of the society after the Recession and while funds to support such businesses crashed, these sections experienced tremendous racism, intra-race conflicts and competition, and unemployment. Families were forced to travel overseas or to their native land looking for employment. Therefore, although the impact of affirmative action calls for positive growth and placement of under-represented members of the American society, it ruled out occurrence of economic crashes like the one we saw in 2008. Like it or not, the conjoined forces of unemployment and conflict led to inequality in job openings after the Recession with more preference given to Whites, Asians and Europeans. Assessment of Conservative Psychology: Conservatives were never open to adoring color people whether they did well at work or not. As a result, they resisted calls for equality. However, after the Civil Rights Act, conservatives started to realize the positive aspects of appreciating good work and talent, and started to develop a color blind outlook. This was working well till the colored people started to take up top positions in American companies, although very few such positions were compromised, and threatened the path to growth and prosperity amongst the established classes of American society, namely, the Whites. Local 1199: This aspect of the affirmative action bill remains less explored in MacLean’s book even in the second edition as they endeavored to bring in its key aspects. The first edition had the entire Local 1199 was a fledgling at the time of release of first edition and described union building in a relatively maverick manner (Fink & Greenburg, 2009, p.123). The process of union building and representation has changed immensely and this as not initially assessed as an impact of affirmative action in the book. Predictions for Future Governments: Whether it was the Kennedy regime or the Reagan regime, the book fails to make correct predictions in laws and amendments and impact of affirmative action (Maclean, 2008, p.14) in American society. The Obama administration headed by a black President brings in new vigor to the concepts of equality amongst races and genders, a situation unexplored in MacLean’s book. African American Context: Although represented by the head of the country, African American populations in America are not satisfied by the one sided treatment to success that they are given. While a talented few of their community make it big in the American graph of icons, the rest are left to be treated as criminals even at the slightest mention of misconduct which immediately takes away their chances at receiving equal treatment in educational institutions, workplaces and political spheres. Conclusion: Thus, we do not entirely agree with the assessment of impact of affirmative action that has been provided in the book by Nancy MacLean owing to the facts that have not been discussed in the book, which were later observed in due course of time. References: Critchlow, D. T., & MacLean, N. (2009). Debating the American conservative movement: 1945 to the present. Rowman & Littlefield. De Zwart, F. (2000). The logic of affirmative action: Caste, class and quotas in India. Acta Sociologica, 43(3), 235-249. Fink, L., & Greenberg, B. (2009). Upheaval in the Quiet Zone: 1199SEIU and the Politics of Health Care Unionism. University of Illinois Press. Green, D. O. N. (2009). The case for affirmative action on campus: Concepts of equity, considerations for practice. Stylus Publishing, LLC.. MacLean, N. (2008). Freedom is not enough: The opening of the American workplace. Harvard University Press. MacLean, N. (2006). Gender is powerful: The long reach of feminism. OAH Magazine of History, 20(5), 19-23. Read More