Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

6-27-2012

SSRN Discipline

Legal Scholarship Network; PSN Subject Matter eJournals; Social Insurance Research Network; Law School Research Papers - Legal Studies; Law & Society eJournals; LSN Subject Matter eJournals; Humanities Network; Political Science Network; Political Behavior eJournals

Abstract

Opponents of affirmative action and similar redistributive measures often argue that they proceed in defiance of the merit principlethe idea that scarce resources such as places in a law school class ought to go to those who most deserve them Since affirmative actions beneficiaries usually minorities from poor backgrounds often lack traditional indicators of merit such as top grades and test scores it is said giving them an edge in the competition for law slots violates the merit principle This chronicle subjects this argument to critical analysis examining the history and current functioning of conventional merit and noting a number of drawbacks associated with it

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