"Affirmative action is a much-debated policy, in employment as well as in education, in the Supreme Court as well as on the street. Yet as this book clearly shows, affirmative action is both sensible and effective, differing little from many other government programs that evoke no controversy. Why don't Americans wholeheartedly support affirmative action?" "This book answers this important question. It examines explanations put forth by social scientists, finding various degrees of truth in most of them. Some situate the problem in the policy itself, suggesting that affirmative action functions as a governmentally sanctioned form of reverse racism or sexism, or that is is ineffective or socially disruptive. Such explanations may sound plausible, but they are incorrect. Other explanations locate the problem in the people who react to the policy, citing studies that document the links between ignorance, prejudice, and opposition to affirmative action. Yet even well-informed egalitarian people sometimes oppose affirmative action." "So what is the problem? The book concludes by proposing that the American failure to endorse wholeheartedly what is a fair and an effective policy arises, ironically, from Americans' infatuation with justice. Smitten with the concept of merit, we are perturbed by a policy that invites us to recognize the complications of social justice."--BOOK JACKET.