Lecture 06: A Brief Summary

Discrimination, as a social or moral problem, can be defined as ‘differential (unequal) treatment on irrelevant grounds’.

Relevant reasons for differential treatment are often related to individual merit (e.g. academic qualification, skills, talent or work experience); whereas irrelevant reasons are often related to group identity (group membership or factors such as race, sex, religion, social class or sexual orientation).

Generally speaking, discrimination involves making distinctions based on prejudice (biased judgment) involves differential (unequal) treatment is either conscious (intentional) or unconscious (unintentional) is either personal or institutional involves unequal power relations

Why is discrimination wrong Why is discrimination wrong? From a consequentalist point of view, discrimination not only has bad consequences for the victims, but also for society as a whole. From a deontological standpoint, discrimination violates accepted moral principles, such as the principle of formal equality.

From the standpoint of rights theory, it is generally agreed that freedom from discrimination is a basic human right, which implies that all of us have a duty not to discriminate against others.

Racism (racial discrimination) can be understood as discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity, while sexism (sexual discrimination) can be defined as discrimination on the basis of sex or gender.

Racism is the belief that [1] humans are divided into different races, [2] the characteristics possessed by some races make their members intrinsically more valuable than members of other races, and [3] the superior races have a right to dominate the inferior races.

Racism entails the inability or refusal to recognize the rights, needs, dignity, or value of people of particular races or geographical origins. Racism is also morally unacceptable because of its adverse social, economic and political consequences for those unjustly affected by it.

Sexism typically involves [1] false beliefs about people because of their sex, or devaluing them because of this, and [2] social, political or economic institutions that seek to legitimize the power of men over women.

By attributing inferiority to the capacities, abilities and dispositions of women, sexists deny that women should be granted the same rights and moral status, or treated with the same respect, as men.

The principle of ‘formal equality’: Like cases should be treated alike The principle of ‘formal equality’: Like cases should be treated alike. Differential treatment is unacceptable unless some relevant difference exists.

The term ‘merit’ refers to those relevant qualities that enable a person to do well in a particular position. If merit is what makes a person qualify for a particular academic or professional position, then race and sex are unlikely to count as relevant merit.

Differential treatment is unjust if some people are treated less favorably than others simply because of their race, gender or the social group to which they belong. To deny some people access to opportunities in education or employment, or to treat them less favorably without a relevant reason, is to wrong them by treating them unfairly.

Formal equality of opportunity requires measures (i. e Formal equality of opportunity requires measures (i.e. anti-discrimination laws and equal opportunity policy) to ensure that educational, employment and other opportunities are filled by the best qualified individuals.

Formal equality of opportunity is seen as a major aspect of a ‘meritocracy’, i.e. a system that rewards individual merit by allocating opportunities on the basis of merit alone. In a meritocracy, academic and professional positions should be filled by the best qualified individuals.

Merit, however, is not the only relevant reason for differential treatment. For example, it is generally agreed that people with disabilities (people with special needs) should be treated differently because disability is also a relevant reason for special treatment.

Equal opportunity policy usually requires that measures be taken to ensure: equal access to opportunities (e.g. by enforcing anti-discrimination laws) open and fair competition for opportunities consistent rules and standards be applied in the assessment and selection processes

Advocates of ‘fair equality of opportunity’ propose that active steps be taken by the government to equalize opportunity, i.e. measures that help to raise the social and economic positions of disadvantaged social groups (e.g. social welfare provision, job training programs, affirmative action programs).