Affirmative Action in the Political Domain

Abstract

This article has two parts. First, I argue that three prominent arguments in favour of affirmative action – the mitigating discrimination argument, the equality of opportunity argument and the diversity argument – may be based on a relational egalitarian theory of justice, as opposed to a distributive understanding of justice. Second, I argue that basing these arguments in favour of affirmative action on relational egalitarianism has an interesting implication when it comes to the site(s) of affirmative action. Whereas affirmative action is usually discussed and pursued in university admissions and in hiring for jobs, the relational egalitarian–based arguments entail, all else equal, that we have more reason to pursue affirmative action in the political domain than in the traditional sites.