ABSTRACT
Like theories of punishment, theories of reverse (positive) discrimination can usefully be divided into forward-looking (teleological) ones and backward-looking (compensatory/retributive) ones. 1 (See Sec. 1 of Essay 4.) One example of the former type of theory is Dworkin’s, who defends the policy on the ground that it will (perhaps) produce ‘a more equal society’. 2 Another is Sher’s, who defends it on the ground that it increases equality of opportunity. 3 This essay is an examination of the latter type of theory. 4 Compensatory discrimination is related, then, to discrimination thus: discrimination is the genus, of which reverse discrimination is a species, of which compensatory discrimination is a sub-species. It will be convenient to proceed by examining successively the ideas of discrimination, of compensation, and of compensatory discrimination.
