AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: SOCIAL JUSTICE OR UNFAIR PREFERENCE?
By Albert G. Mosley and Nicholas Capaldi. Lanham, Maryland: Rowmann & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 1996. 141 pp. Cloth. ISBN 0-8476-8301-X Paper. ISBN 0-8476-8302-8

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: THE PROS AND CONS OF POLICY AND PRACTICE
by Richard F. Tomasson, Faye J. Crosby and Sharon D. Herzberger. Washington: The American University Press, 1996. 276 pp. Cloth. ISBN 1-879383-51-9 Paper. ISBN 1-879383-52-7.

Reviewed by James L. Danielson, Department of Political Science, Moorhead State University
 

As the titles suggest, both these books address affirmative action in a "Pro-Con" or "For and Against" format. Though the Taxman-Piscataway case on the Supreme Court’s docket is now moot, these two books obviously address a topic of current interest and political/legal importance. As I was preparing this review, an advertisement arrived from a publisher with four texts (three of them new paperbacks) focusing on the topic of affirmative action. Literature on the topic is mushrooming. Affirmative action is one of the "hot-button" issues of contemporary American politics and certainly an area within which there have been some interesting and contentious developments in public law.

Taken together, these two publications provide a fairly rich source of legal evolution, historical events, political dynamics, ideological perspectives, and the current debate on affirmative action. Unless one is interested in each incident or nuance, these publications may suffice for the scholar or citizen who wants to keep abreast of recent developments concerning this issue. The authors have addressed the major legal cases, legislation, publications, participants and administrative challenges associated with precepts and practices of affirmative action.

Both books contain two major essays, one favoring and the other opposing, affirmative action. That makes four central essays, with each essay representing a different perspective on the topic. Affirmative action can be discussed with an emphasis on law, marked by references to legislation and case analysis of court decisions and judicial opinions. Affirmative action can be discussed with a normative/ideological emphasis, marked by references to the history of political ideas and prevailing norms that may define the American political culture. Affirmative action can be discussed with an emphasis on practices, emphasizing names, dates, events and attempts to apply principles and law to programs or policies within organizations over time. Affirmative action can be addressed in terms of logical, operational and administrative challenges, focusing on issues of measurement, accountability, and implementation consequences. The four major essays presented in these two publications provide some good examples of those emphases and orientations.

Albert G. Mosley authors the "Pro" essay in the Mosley-Capaldi book. Almost half of his discussion details the legislative and judicial background of affirmative action wherein he describes the features of major legislation (Civil Rights Act of 1964) as well as the judicial decisions that have interpreted the legislation while reviewing organizational policies and procedures since the l960’s. His is an informative and efficient summary of legislative and judicial activities. In the latter part of his essay he defends the merits of various practices and precepts. He argues that, despite confusion concerning meaning and implementation, affirmative action has been beneficial to blacks, women, disabled, and elderly. Most of the vociferous opposition, according to Mosley, is due to the increasing "vulnerability" of the white working class in today’s global economy.

Nicholas Capaldi presents the "Con" argument in the Mosley/Capaldi book. Beginning with five major definitions of affirmative action, 1) open search, 2) punitive, 3) minority set-asides, 4) backward compensation, and 5) forward preferential (p.68), Capaldi makes a frontal attack. Even when addressing legal and administrative considerations, his analysis has a decidedly ideological tone. He makes sweeping assertions concerning norms and culture, while arguing, often by assertion, that any interpretation and/or practice of affirmative action that goes beyond an open search fundamentally violates the legal and moral principles of the American tradition. He argues that the "liberal paradigm" needs to be openly challenged and that affirmative action should be outlawed. Capaldi provides 56 endnotes to buttress his sometimes bombastic presentation, while Mosley documents his analysis with 134 endnotes. Even in the two "Response" essays that provide an opportunity for the two authors to comment on each other’s argument, the stylistic qualities of each author remain consistent with the longer essays.

The Tomasson/Crosby/Herzberger book includes two essays, pro and con, but without rejoinder/response essays. As a result, the book has less internal continuity. Each essay is presented as an independent discussion with only oblique or coincidental references to the points presented in the other essay included in the book

Faye J. Crosby and Sharon D. Herzberger write "For Affirmative Action". They define affirmative action as existing "whenever an organization goes out of its way (i.e., exerts an effort) to help realize the goal of true equality among people" (p. 11). Obviously such a broad definition can cover a wide variety of practices. And even though President Lyndon Johnson’s Executive Order 11246 was part of the civil rights struggles of the 1960’s, associated at the time with the black population of the United States, most of the examples and data presented in their argument reference gender qualities. In particular, they focus on the case for increasing the proportion of women in economic, political and, especially, educational institutions. Crosby and Herzberger argue that the evidence supports the conclusion that affirmative action works, but that there is still much that needs to be done to address issues of fairness, overcome past discrimination, undo the problematic consequences of socialization, and develop a more "representative" workforce throughout society. The focus of their analysis is evidenced by the question raised toward the end of their discussion, "Are White Men Bearing The Costs?" They conclude their ""pro" argument in 87 pages followed by 20 pages of endnotes and bibliography.

Richard F. Tomasson’s lengthier "Against Affirmative Action" essay includes 130 pages of text, 8 pages of appendices, and 19 pages of endnotes and bibliography. It is a thorough, well-substantiated, tempered and measured defense of his position. He cites relevant law and presents evidence of problematic practice and policy. One of the strengths of Tomasson’s essay involves Part Two which he entitles "The Insuperable Problems of Affirmative Action." Therein he provides a well-reasoned discussion of some of the empirical, logical and operational problems involved in attempting to implement affirmative action in different circumstances and for various identifiable groups. Whether one agrees or disagrees with his argument, Tomasson presents examples and issues that cannot be ignored. If the book included rejoinder essays, perhaps the proponents of either side of the affirmative action debate could have rigorously engaged some of the questions and conclusions.

Given the recent Senate confirmation hearings on Bill Lann Lee, the issues entwining affirmative action will continue to play themselves out within legislative, judicial and administrative chambers in American society. These two books can help scholars and interested citizens develop a more informed understanding concerning the complexities that are embedded in both precept and practice.