Affirmative action can generally be described as preferential treatment for minorities and women in jobs, educational opportunities, and receipt of other benefits. However, its origin and meaning remain relatively obscure. This study is designed to provide clarity and to strengthen the position of affirmative action amidst the controversy that surrounds it. Under attack across the nation, affirmative action is at a nadir. Gray contends that the grounds for defending affirmative action are based in ideas of social justice and can be found in the writings of philosophers, polemicists, and...