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CHAPTER 14 Racism, Equality, and Discrimination
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Background and Facts about Racism and Discrimination
A. The Nature of Racism and Discrimination
B. Affirmative Action
1. Weak Affirmative Action
2. Strong Affirmative Action
II. Moral Theories and Racism and Discrimination
A. Utilitarianism (for strong affirmative action)
B. Utilitarianism (against strong affirmative action)
C. Nonconsequentialism (for strong affirmative action)
III. Moral Arguments: Compensatory Justice
1. The sociologist Tanya Maria Golash-Boza says that race is
a. a natural phenomenon. c. a social construction.
b. an inevitable factor in hiring decisions. d. a biological category.
2. According to Lawrence Blum, popular thinking about race generally dispenses with the
biological component, but not with the idea of ________, the notion that “certain traits of
mind, character, and temperament are inescapably part of a racial group’s ‘nature’ and hence
define its racial fate.”
a. inherency c. incomprehensibility
b. inevitability d. incoherence
3. Lawrence Blum says that the two key concepts in the definition of racism are
a. generalization and inference. c. superiority and arrogance.
b. ignorance and assumptions. d. inferiorization and antipathy.
4. The unfavorable treatment of people because of their race is called
a. socially constructed discrimination. c. racial prejudice.
b. racial discrimination. d. legitimate prejudice.
5. Unequal treatment that arises from the way organizations, institutions, and social systems
operate is referred to as
a. individual racism. c. veiled racism.
b. global racism. d. structural racism.
6. In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
a. using quota systems in college admissions is constitutional.
b. using quota systems in college admissions is unconstitutional.
c. any consideration of race or minority status in admissions is unconstitutional.
d. any consideration of race or minority status in admissions is constitutional.
7. Refusing to give a good worker a raise in pay just because he is black or Hispanic is an example of
a. sexism. c. reverse discrimination.
b. discrimination. d. affirmative action.
8. Widespread advertisement of job openings to groups not previously represented in certain
privileged positions is an example of
a. preferential hiring. c. weak affirmative action.
b. reverse discrimination. d. strong affirmative action.
9. Almost everyone agrees that
a. efforts should be made to end discrimination against minorities and women.
b. a proportion of available positions should be reserved for minorities and women.
c. preferential treatment on the basis of race, gender, or minority status is always wrong.
d. strong affirmative action is reverse discrimination against white males.
10. Suppose there are two equally qualified candidates for a single position. The only difference
between them is that one is white and the other is a person of color. The best decision
according to weak affirmative action is to
a. award the position to the person of color to fill a quota.
b. award the position to the person of color to make amends for generations of racism.
c. use a random process to determine which candidate is awarded the position.
d. use race as a tiebreaker and award the position to the person of color.
11. The main point of a quota is to ensure that
a. only the most competent applicants are hired.
b. a sufficient number of minorities or women apply.
c. an organization has a predetermined percentage of minority members or women.
d. reparations are given to those who have suffered the most.
12. In many contexts, scholars find that students perform better in school when their credentials
are closer to those of their classmates, whereas they have more trouble persisting in a difficult
major, graduating from college, or getting a good job when they are surrounded by peers who
have much higher credentials. This has been referred to as the mismatch effect. If we
assume the mismatch effect is real, what would a utilitarian say this suggests about the use of
strong affirmative action?
a. The mismatch effect is not relevant to the issue of strong affirmative action.
b. The mismatch effect illustrates how strong affirmative action is not always beneficial to minorities.
c. The mismatch effect illustrates the importance of diversity in these contexts.
d. The mismatch effect illustrates how strong affirmative action is almost always beneficial to minorities.
13. Some argue that preferential programs create role models for minorities and women.
These role models are essential for demonstrating to young people that significant achievement
is possible. Opponents reply that
a. preferential programs do not actually create role models for minorities and women.
b. there are already enough role models for minorities and women.
c. role models are not needed for young people to know that achievement is possible.
d. the best role models are people who are the most competent, regardless of race or gender.
14. According to Carl Cohen, “Preference creates that burden; it makes a stigma of the race of
those who are preferred by race. An ethnic group given special favor by the community is
marked as needing special favor—and the mark is borne prominently by every one of its
members.” In this passage, Cohen is rejecting which argument used to support strong
affirmative action?
a. Race preferences make amends for generations of injustices toward minorities and women.
b. Preferential programs can increase racial and cultural diversity.
c. Strong affirmative action may be able to eradicate racism and transform our race-conscious society.
d. Race preferences create role models for minorities and women whose self-esteem and hopes for success have been dimmed by
generations of discrimination.
15. A key argument for strong affirmative action is based on
a. policies of reverse discrimination.
b. feelings of guilt on the part of white males.
c. a history of injustices against minorities.
d. scientific evidence demonstrating the benefits of diversity.
16. Some argue that affirmative action policies are needed to make amends for past wrongs.
This argument appeals to the concept of
a. compensatory justice. c. punitive justice.
b. distributive justice. d. retributive justice.
17. Judith Jarvis Thomson argues that ________ are the best and most suitable form of
compensation for the past ill treatment of minorities.
a. civil rights laws c. scholarships
b. reparation payments d. jobs
18. According to one argument, when blacks get preferential treatment in employment some
white males end up losing out—even though these whites had no part in past racism and
may have never discriminated against anyone. Supporters of preferential hiring practices
will say that
a. these policies will actually benefit white males and minorities equally.
b. all white males are actually racist, even if they don’t mean to be.
c. the injustice to white males makes amends for past injustices to minorities.
d. white males benefit from a history of policies that discriminate against minorities.
19. Opponents of preferential hiring practices argue that the only standard for awarding jobs is
a. competence. c. equal opportunity.
b. diversity. d. justice.
TRUE/FALSE
1. Scientific racism refers to a school of thought that held that (1) humanity can indeed be
divided into separate and distinct races, (2) race enables us to explain the most basic
differences among people, and (3) some races are superior to others.
2. The traditional idea about race is that it consists of heritable biological features common to all
members of a racial group—features that explain the character and cultural traits of those
members. However, most scientists and philosophers believe that this view is false.
3. Some philosophers, known as race skeptics, believe that race has a physical scientific
basis and argue that the concept of race should be the main focus of science.
4. The view of many researchers and scholars is that races (in the biological sense) don’t exist, but “racialized groups” do.
5. Lawrence Blum insists that every instance of racial conflict, insensitivity, discomfort, miscommunication, exclusion, injustice, or
ignorance should be called racist.
6. Currently, blacks and dark-skinned racial minorities lag well behind whites in virtually every
area of social life; they are about three times more likely to be poor than whites, earn about 40
percent less than whites, and have about an eighth of the net worth that whites have.
7. The nonconsequentialist answer to the question “Why are racists wrong?” is that they hurt people.
8. The consequentialist answer to the question “Why are racists wrong?” is likely to appeal to two fundamental moral principles: respect
for persons and justice.
9. In his explanation of weak affirmative action, Louis P. Pojman argues, “There is no more moral requirement to guarantee that 12
percent of professors are Black than to guarantee that 85 percent
of the players in the National Basketball Association are White.” He is here trying to show that
weak affirmative action aims for equal opportunity, not equal results.
10. According to Carl Cohen, “No matter who the beneficiaries may be or who the victims,
preference on the basis of race is morally wrong. It was wrong in the distant past and in the
recent past; it is wrong now; and it will always be wrong.” Cohen’s position rejects strong
affirmative action policies on nonconsequentialist grounds.
SHORT ANSWER
1. Some philosophers, called race ________, agree with race skeptics that biological race is a myth but are reluctant to jettison the social
construct.
2. ________ is the belief that some races are inferior in significant respects or otherwise deserving of dislike or hostility.
3. ________ refers to the advantages or benefits that whites enjoy simply because they are white.
4. Racism often involves ________; that is, racially biased opinions based on incomplete or erroneous information.
5. The practice of trying to make amends for, or eradicating, discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and gender is called ________.
