In the controversial area of ​​affirmative action, the biggest question fiercely fought over is whether minorities should be given preferential treatment on the workplace and in schools. One camp states that members of the minority group need and deserve help from the government in order to be on an equal footing with the majority group. Opponents of affirmative action point out that separating groups based on their race or ethnicity is pure racism and can lead to reverse discrimination. I am against affirmative action for the above reasons and would not consider such racism necessary for the creation of a healthy society, as its proponents claim. I believe that affirmative action today is outdated and is inherently harmful to society. Stephen Steinberg, a proponent of affirmative action, in his essay The Affirmative Action Debate, argued that equality in society is not possible without government intervention and assistance. He asserts that "the problem is wrongly posed when it is suggested that we must choose between merit or preference, or between the rights of individuals and the rights of groups, or between a color-blind or color-conscious society" ( 363). Yet while saying this, he supported the issues he adamantly opposes by favoring affirmative action. Earlier in his essay, he describes the history of affirmative action in the workplace, from equal rights for all, to the selection of certain minority groups for employment and preferential treatment of minorities (360). Of these three, the only one I can fully and firmly support is the first. When I look at all aspects of this issue, I wonder if we have failed to focus on the right question. The goal of affirmative action claims to be middle of paper...society. " Ed. Bryan J. Grapes. San Diego: Greenhaven. 2000. 38-46. Gelles, Richard J. and Ann Levine. Sociology: An Introduction. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill College, 1999. Kristol, Irving. “The tragic error of affirmative action." Wall Street Journal August 1, 1994. Rpt. Action is reverse discrimination. "Ed. Bonnie Szumski. San Diego: Greenhaven. 1996. 144-48. Silverstein, Shel. Where the sidewalk ends. San Francisco: Harper, 1974. Steele, Shelby. “Social Evils.” The New York Times March 13, 1994. Rpt. in Interracial America: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Bonnie Szumski: Greenhaven 1996. 175. Steinberg, Stephen. “The Affirmative Action Debate”. Essays on contemporary culture. 4th ed. Katherine Anne Ackley as Harcourt.. 2001. 359-63.