Does Affirmative Action Work? By Graham K. Brown evaluates the efficiency of affirmative action programs keeping the focus of the programs implemented in Malaysia, India and South Africa. The article was written based on the author’s interests in research of identity, political mobilization, and inequality. The piece joins the constant campaigns against social discrimination, inequalities, and prejudice. The article analyses the effectiveness of these programs in a quest to improve the lives of the most discriminated people in these countries. Political, legal, social and cultural campaigns have kept their focus on ensuring equality, non-discriminative representations in all institutions and inclusion; these are the issues that the piece evaluates. The article uses clear judgments which are supported by qualitative and quantitative research making it reliable and efficient.
Graham K. Brown wrote the article Does Affirmative Action Work? working as a professor at the University of Western Australia; his interest is to find a research related to identity, inequality and political sensitization. Formerly, he was a professor at the Centre for Development Studies, the University of Bath in the United Kingdom. The primary purpose of the article is to address issues concerned with regression in progress of economic opportunities for discriminated and marginalized groups. Implementation of affirmative action has since been adopted by other countries which have greatly impacted towards equality among its citizens. The article seeks a global audience; it addresses the political, social, legal and economic sectors that the marginalized groups of people are involved in. The article was originally published in India with the policy empowering groups faced with discrimination. The publication context majorly focused on the importance of affirmative action which was aimed to reduce the cases related to discrimination.
The author used logos as a mode of persuasion, logos requires the application of facts presented with evidence and statistics to support the claims. Brown has clearly used facts and statistics to support his arguments, for example, he provides the different effects of affirmative action programs in Malaysia, South Africa and India, each of the countries have been analyzed using statistical information. In Malaysia, the GDP per capita has tremendously increased from approximately $392 to $10, 500 from 1970 and today respectively. South Africa has seen a drop in poverty line by 15 percent since the introduction of the programs; these are some of the statistical evidence provided by the author.
The article answers the question of whether affirmative action programs are applicable effective, the author broke it into parts that are easy to follow and understandable. The evidence and statistic used for the three countries are not complicated and it can be followed by all audiences. The article has been presented in a formal way; it addresses a contemporary issue that has a global impact. Presenting the article in a formal way makes the article more convincing because the topic being addressed is formal. Additionally, the author uses a serious tone, the choice of words and sentence construction presents a serious evaluation of the topic.
Conclusion
One of the most capturing information in the article is the fact that affirmative action is a global issue, programs addressing the issue are done differently in different countries but all aim at addressing the issue of inequality. Malaysia, India and South Africa implemented their programs differently but they all work to achieve the same goal. The success of the article greatly lies in the facts and evidence used to support the arguments. The author has effectively used statistics and evidence which clearly shows how different countries have achieved affirmative action. Brown’s argument is based on discrimination and inequality using three countries as an example which makes it relevant to discuss on how affirmative action works towards the improvement of marginalization and promotion of equality across the countries.
Work Cited
Brown, Graham K., and Arnim Langer. "Does Affirmative Action Work: Lessons from around the World." Foreign Aff. 94 (2015): 49.
