Matt Continetti on the Politics of Race-Based Affirmative Action

This fall, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments challenging race-based admission policies at the University of North Carolina and Harvard. Despite previous rulings that have upheld constitutional preferences to achieve a racially diverse study body, the court is widely expected to rule against this form of affirmative action. How have American policies on children evolved politically and how has affirmative action come to reflect right versus left ideology today?

In this episode, Naomi and Ian are joined by Matthew Continetti, Senior Fellow and inaugural Patrick and Charlene Neal Chair in American Prosperity at the American Enterprise Institute. Matt outlines how race-based quotas introduced under President Richard Nixon were initially designed to help the social and economic advancement of the descendants of American slaves. However, the classification expanded over time as the left began to embrace the idea of color consciousness, and the notion that the presence of a racial disparity means there must be racism at work.

Matt argues that the conservative movement has been most successful in education policy because it acknowledged everyday Americans who are dissatisfied with overreach by the Left and are looking for substantive policy responses. Advocating for school choice, charter schools, and greater accountability from public schools has received widespread support from the American public, and conservatives should continue in this vein.

Resources:

• The End of Affirmative Action? | Matthew Continetti | Commentary

• Is It Time to Replace Race with Class in Affirmative Action? | Ian Rowe | Eduwonk

Show Notes:

• 02:00 | How did affirmative action divide the left and the right?

• 06:00 | The unintended consequences of government action

• 10:00 | Most Americans view each other as individuals, not members of groups

• 11:30 | The negative effects of race-based ideologies

• 16:15 | What is the future of the conservative movement?