The Role Of Discrimination In The United States

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Pages: 2

In theory, anti-discrimination laws are designed to prevent preferential treatment of either the dominant group, or a minority group, so as to increase the likelihood of equal treatment. In practice such policies are usually not defined by their efficacy, but are instead defined by the intentions, goals, and rationales of those proposing the policies. However, the resulting consequences of such policies are generally not determined by their intentions or goals, but rather the process of how discrimination is defined and determined by those with the power to make and enforce laws. The incentives and constraints generated by those definitions and methodologies are generally a more accurate estimate of the potential efficacy of specific policies than the intentions, goals, and rationale behind the policies. The latter analysis becomes decisive when it is strengthened by the empirical evaluation of the results that eventually stem from the enactment of such policies. …show more content…
The concept of “Affirmative Action” was more or less defined as the conscious effort on part of employers to insure that applicants and employees were treated equally “without regard to their race, creed, color or national origin.” Anti-discrimination laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were similarly designed so as to insure the prevention of differential treatment in employment, usage of public facilities, and in various other public contexts. However, even before the Civil Rights Act was ratified, the straightforward legal definitions provided were muddied by competing