cover image The Ironies of Affirmative Action: Politics, Culture, and Justice in America

The Ironies of Affirmative Action: Politics, Culture, and Justice in America

John David Skrentny. University of Chicago Press, $48 (326pp) ISBN 978-0-226-76177-0

Most of those who debate affirmative action, notes University of Pennsylvania sociologist Skrentny, don't examine how the issue emerged. Thus, his textured, lucid explication of a complex controversy is a vital contribution to American political discourse. The Right proclaims color blindness; however, its members condone other preferential policies, such as those for veterans. The Left, which once also embraced color blindness, never lobbied for affirmative action; instead, it was the work of white male government and business elites. Skrentny describes how the color-blind model, at least until the early '60s, was thought to lead to black equality. But meritocratic procedures don't always work Thus in response to urban riots, black nationalism and Cold War pressures, affirmative action seemed a solution. Also, the author adds, the policy--which produced measurable hiring statistics--fit into the pragmatism of government agencies pressured by civil rights groups. Soon affirmative action became linked, in public discourse and court decisions, to older civil rights or equality traditions. The author offers no policy prescriptions; rather, he suggests that global changes--including the end of the Cold War and the rise of nationalism--have made arguing against affirmative action popular. (Apr.)