"Affirmative action" refers to efforts to redress imbalances in the workplace, university, or other institution by actively seeking out candidates who have traditionally been excluded, such as members of racial minorities and women. In the past, certain Americans have been excluded from full participation in the American economy, and racial discrimination and sexual discrimination have been cited as the two primary reasons for this. Affirmative action is a way of seeking out candidates from previously excluded groups and may include preferential treatment in order to elevate minority candidates above other candidates in order to achieve some form of racial or gender balance. The goal is admirable, but the means can lead to conflict and to a system in which excellence is not the primary criterion for advancement. These critics charge that this is precisely what has happened, and they see affirmative action as opposed to the ideal of a meritocracy in which each person accomplishes what he or she can based on their abilities and not on some secondary factor such as gender or skin color. They also charge that affirmative action has in fact been damaging to the very minorities it has been intended to help, but this conclusion is incorrect. In fact, affirmative action has been good for minorities and has provided them with opportunities they otherwise would not have had. Affirmative action is a policy that recognizes that the ideal of a meritocracy is possible only when the playing field is truly level, meaning not only that opportunities are open to all, but also that living conditions and related matters are equal so that each person is able to develop those abilities which will allow them to compete on merit. This is a situation that does not exist today.
Many critics speak of as meritocracy as if it existed before affirmative action came along and changed everything into a less fair system. If this were true, and if a merito...