Affirmative Action Around the World
An Empirical Study
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Affirmative Action Around the World
Buy Now for $21.99
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Narrated by:
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Robertson Dean
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By:
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Thomas Sowell
About this listen
An eminent authority presents a new perspective on affirmative action in a provocative book that stirred fresh debate about this vitally important issue when it was published in 2005.
In this important book, an eminent authority presents a new perspective on affirmative action, investigating its actual consequences in the United States and in other countries where it has been in effect. Evaluating his empirical data, Thomas Sowell concludes that race preference programs worldwide have not met expectations and have often produced the opposite of what was originally intended.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2004 Thomas Sowell (P)2025 Blackstone PublishingAffirmative action, defined as policies that give preferential treatment to individuals based on race, ethnicity, sex, or other identity group characteristics—is meant to address historical inequalities. But as Thomas Sowell shows in this global analysis, good intentions don’t guarantee good outcomes.
Across five countries, Sowell presents hard evidence that these policies consistently backfire. They deepen division, fuel resentment, and undermine merit-based achievement. Worse still, they often harm the very groups they aim to help.
One of the book’s most powerful insights is that affirmative action programs, though sold as temporary, rarely end. Once preferences are institutionalized, reversing them becomes politically and socially difficult.. even when the original disparities no longer exist.
Sowell’s message is clear: unity and progress come from judging individuals by merit and character, not group identity.
Highly recommended
Merit Over Identity: Why Affirmative Action Fails Across Borders
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