Affirmative action refers to policies that give weight to a person’s membership in an under-represented or historically disadvantaged group in areas such as education and employment, to widen access and correct past discrimination.
Historical proponents:B. R. Ambedkar, W. E. B. Du Boisis a fair way to make up for past discrimination.
Nothing is sent anywhere.
Policies vary widely: outreach and recruitment targets, preferences in admissions or hiring, and in some countries formal quotas or reserved places. The aim is to widen opportunity for groups that have faced discrimination and to make institutions more representative.
Examples include India’s system of reservations for historically disadvantaged castes and tribes, university admissions programs in the United States and employment equity laws in Canada. In 2023 the US Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the Constitution, which changed the practice at American universities.
Influential figures in the 12 axes thinker pool who advocated, analyzed or shaped ideas around this concept.
Jurist & social reformer · 1891–1956
An Indian jurist born into a Dalit family, who chaired the drafting committee of India’s constitution and campaigned to abolish caste.
“Annihilation of Caste says caste can end only by rejecting the authority of the shastras that uphold it.”
Sociologist & civil rights leader · 1868–1963
An American sociologist who co-founded the NAACP and argued that Black Americans should claim full citizenship without giving up a spirit of their own, then turned to Pan-Africanism, socialism and the peace movement.
“The Stanford Encyclopedia reads his early politics as expressive modernization, which brings the masses into the norms of modern life while heeding the ethos of the folk.”
Real cases that people point to when they use the word.
India’s constitutionally backed reservations in education, public jobs and legislatures for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
South Africa’s Employment Equity Act, which requires employers to promote fair representation.
Race-conscious college admissions in the United States, curtailed by the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision.
Reasonable people disagree about this. These are the strongest points made on each side.
The test asks about it in a statement. Your answer moves one axis score.
Agreeing with a statement in favor of affirmative action moves your score toward the Progressive side of the Progressive vs Traditional axis; disagreeing moves it toward Traditional. It is one of the most disputed questions on the axis, and people who agree on the goal of equal opportunity often disagree on the method.
Which way agreeing pushes the score
Agreeing with a statement about affirmative action moves your score toward Progressive.
Something else on your mind? Get in touch
Three statements gave you a first reading. The full test scores all twelve axes and finds your closest countries and ideologies.