Final answer:
Ronald Dworkin supports affirmative action as a way to compensate for historical injustices and increase overall fairness without violating rights. Legal cases like Bakke v. California and Grutter v. Bollinger have allowed race as a factor in university admissions. The debate continues between promoting diversity and adhering to merit-based principles.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ronald Dworkin's argument concerning affirmative action and the use of race in such policies is that it does not violate anyone's rights. Dworkin, along with other American philosophers such as James Rachels, Judith Jarvis Thomson, and Mary Anne Warren, supports affirmative action as a means to redress past injustices and discrimination that have provided an unequal foundation for different groups in society. They argue that affirmative action can improve the 'overall fairness' of admissions and hiring processes by compensating for entrenched discrimination and leveling the playing field.
Legal precedents, such as the landmark cases of Bakke v. California and Grutter v. Bollinger, have allowed for race to be considered as one factor in university admissions as long as it does not involve rigid quotas, suggesting that affirmative action can coexist with individual rights under certain conditions. The courts have required these policies to be 'narrowly tailored' and to serve a compelling governmental interest, which has been interpreted to mean the promotion of diversity in educational settings.
Critics of affirmative action raise concerns regarding merit and efficiency, arguing that the policy could unfairly advantage less qualified individuals solely for the sake of diversity. However, studies have indicated that while minorities who benefit from affirmative action may have had poorer credentials, their job performance was found to be equitable, suggesting that the concern for efficiency losses may be overstated. Ultimately, affirmative action remains a contentious issue, balancing the pursuit of social justice with the principles of merit and equal opportunity.