Is Affirmative Action a form of tokenism?
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Original Question
I have read the tokenism fallacy and from what I am getting it's based on practice that is rather based on symbolism than any producible purpose.
So assuming that everyone is equal in gender, race, and ethnicity (because that is the literal perception of people who advocate for affirmative action) in order to produce good merit, isn't it rather symbolic to get more coloured people into the working space or is there any argument that defends this because I see this rather as tokenism ? thanks.
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Answers
2I think it is more pandering than tokenism, but it is sexist, racist, ethncitist, or all three and it discriminates in favor of the less qualified in disfavor of the more qualified and the consumer. As a passenger, do you want the captain of the airplane to be the most qualified to fly the plane or the most [fill in the blank]?
Not necessarily
From an advocate's point of view: certain groups have historically been (and in many ways, still are) treated unfairly because of how they were born. Thus, they have accumulated disadvantages, notably in the workplace (since they were discriminated against in hiring, payment etc). Thus, to correct these historical and ongoing injustices, it is morally acceptable (or even right) to give members of these groups a 'helping hand', so they can get back on level terms with members of the majority group.
It's only tokenism if it's a half-hearted afterthought with no meaningful intention to improve diversity, or purely done so that it can be used as a defence against criticism later on.
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I think it could be and in a lot cases is. To be politically correct now a days as a business you have to have the right mixture of races in your employment or you are consider racist and run the risk of lawsuits. No matter what the qualifications are.