Affirmative Action, Paternalism, and Respect

Andreas Bengtson; Viki Møller Lyngby Pedersen

doi:10.1017/S0007123423000273

Affirmative Action, Paternalism, and Respect

Andreas Bengtson^*, Viki Møller Lyngby Pedersen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Political Science - CEPDISC

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article investigates the hitherto under-examined relations between affirmative action, paternalism, and respect. We provide three main arguments. First, we argue that affirmative action initiatives are typically paternalistic and thus disrespectful towards intended beneficiaries who oppose them. Second, we argue that not introducing affirmative action can be disrespectful towards these potential beneficiaries because such inaction involves a failure to recognize their moral worth adequately. Third, we argue that the paternalistic disrespect involved in affirmative action is alleviated when the potential beneficiaries' preferences against such initiatives are adaptive. We conclude that, although there is a relevant sense in which paternalistic affirmative action is disrespectful, it may be more disrespectful not to pursue such policies.

Original language	English
Journal	British Journal of Political Science
Volume	54
Issue	2
Pages (from-to)	422-436
Number of pages	15
ISSN	0007-1234
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123423000273
Publication status	Published - Apr 2024

Keywords

affirmative action
autonomy
moral worth
paternalism
respect

Access to Document

10.1017/S0007123423000273Licence: CC BY

Cite this

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