What does affirmative action affirm?

Abstract

The paper tries to define the concept of affirmative action presented against the background of other instruments (such as positive discrimination and the politics of equal opportunity) that overcome marginalisation of social groups based mainly on racial criterion. The author also portrays a historic evolution of affirmative action from non-discrimination to preferences and compensating treatment, as well as from displacing accents from colorblindness towards race-conscious remedies. Simultaneously, the considerations have been shown in the light of present discussion on the usefulness of this kind of solutions, which, in the author’s opinion, is based on dissimilar views regarding socially significant values.