Affirmative action has been employed to solve problems derived from the persistence of inequality and discrimination in several countries. Although commonly associated with the United States, affirmative action was pioneered by India during the 1950s, when the constitution mandated reservations in legislatures, public employment and universities for Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes. Brazil, on the contrary, adopted quotas in university admissions for blacks, browns and the poor only in 2003. Despite the differences between both countries, key arguments raised by its academics against affirmative action are identical or analogous. In this paper we group these arguments in three thematic clusters in order to demonstrate that they can be linked to the conservative theses Albert Hirschman identified as the perverse effect, futility, and jeopardy. In the conclusion we discuss how arguments which are presented as progressive contributions to the public debate might in fact stifle the mitigation of discrimination and social exclusion.
Affirmative action; Caste; Race, India; Brazil; Rhetoric