It has been noted that affirmative action was instituted as
a result of past racism which restricted the rights of blacks and denied them equal opportunity. However, quotas and preferential hiring of blacks, other minorities, and women drew much criticism. Amneus (1979), a university professor, referred to affirmative action as affirmative discrimination. Simmons (1982) noted that affirmative action benefited white, middle-class women far more than lower-class blacks. The statement of Simmons was found to be consistent with the major theses proposed by Banfield (1970). According to Banfield most urban problems are great exaggerations of minor problems, are often nonexistent problems, or are problems for which no solutions are desired or feasible. Banfield further noted that most solutions to urban problems serve to exacerbate, not resolve, such problems. The reference to affirmative action as affirmative discrimination made by Amneus {1979) is consistent with Banfield's last thesis. Many have viewed affirmative action as a cause of problems, not a solution to problems.
Similar to the statement by Banfield (1970) that urban problems are often problems for which no solutions are desired or feasible, McDermott (1974) has reported that the problem of educational failure by minorities seems to have a long history world-wide, and that no solutions initiated in any country has solved this problem.
McDermott (1974) has reported that although majority groups
put forth considerable effort to accommodate minorities with programs of rationalization and equalization, the minority groups continue to perform at a lower level than members of the majority. McDermott noted that blacks, Native Americans, and Hispanic people continue to be an underclass in spite of much effort to improve the conditions of persons within these groups. The same phenomenon has been found in Japan, where Koreans have been and continue to be an underclass. In Nort...