It is interesting and disappointing to imagine what the current atmosphere of race relations in this country could have been had society continued on the course of capitalism as it had in the past two centuries. But instead the rise of collectivism and the fall of individualism reversed man’s achievements regarding equality and instead thrust to the forefront the differences between races, as irrelevant as they may be. During the civil rights era, the African American leadership had a shift in priorities that has had lasting influence on race relations today. It’s no coincidence that with the rise of collectivism, came demands for affirmative action.
Affirmative action is the process of giving priority to minorities, over equal or greater candidates, opportunities for education and work. In short, affirmative action is racism. In order to understand the relationship of affirmative action and the evil it means to combat we must first understand what is racism. Racism is the belief that a man’s morals are defined not by his actions or by his character, but instead by his genetic lineage. It is crucial to note that racism suggests that a man can be judged by the actions or character of his ancestors simply due to a common genetic source, regardless of environmental factors. A result of this line of thinking is “common racial guilt” where a racist makes an individual feel responsible for the actions his ancestor, or simply a member of the same skin color may have committed. This is where we can draw the connection to affirmative action. In a situation where two individuals are equally qualified, but one is a minority and one is white, affirmative action requires that the opportunity be given to the minority because of a history of discrimination to that persons race. Not to that individual minority, but to his ancestors. The implications of this line of thinking condemns the white individual for not having ancestors discriminated against, so the solution becomes to discriminate against him? This a gross injustice that further promotes racism as it brings to light the importance of genetics in individual opportunity. Most importantly this process takes away the individual rights of people not fitting the parameters required of affirmative action. African American’s argument towards equality rested on their rights as individuals but as soon as they started demanding the rights of others, especially ones not responsible for the discrimination of African Americans, they lose all basis of their ethical and moral demands.
Universities are some of the biggest proponents of affirmative action. I would not like to debate the benefits of affirmative action on the individuals that are selected as there is little doubt they receive great benefit. Instead I think it is important to address the risk of supporting such a system on the code of ethics of men. I believe that any system that encourages the idea that a group has more rights than an individual is evil and immoral. I believe that only through supporting individual rights, capitalism and prioritizing our own values over the actions of our ancestors can everyone benefit from a competitive society.