Jonas on affirmative action...

A nice op-ed from George Jonas in today's National Post on affirmative action. Here's his six reasons why he is against quotas:

One, I dislike reverse discrimination for the same reason I dislike discrimination: It's unfair to individuals.

Two, I dislike affirmative action because it highlights the least important aspects of people's identities, ethnicity and gender. We don't go to the theatre to see a Danish male, we go to see Hamlet.

Three, I dislike preferential treatment programs because they perpetuate the myth that is the basis of prejudice, namely that some groups are inferior.

Four, I dislike remedial measures because, far from fostering social harmony between diverse groups, they have the potential of setting them against each other.

Five, I dislike "goal-oriented schedules of inclusivity" -- to cite the sort of euphemistic boilerplate that stands in for affirmative action -- because they lead to a debasement of standards in crafts, arts, and industry. They cause people to spend their energies on seeking the advantages for their ethnic or gender groups instead of striving to achieve their personal best in their chosen fields.

Finally, I dislike quotas by whatever name because they seek group parity rather than individula equality. They replace the worthy aim that any woman should have a chance to become a boilermaker with the bizarre idea that 50% of all boilermakers should be women. While the first goal can be realized in a free and fair society, the second can only be realized in a state of Kafkaesque bureaucracy.

Amen.