I am doing a report discrediting affirmative action.  I need good
arguments against it.  I know a few but it would be helpful to be able
to access internet resources that provide multiple arguments.  Books
easily locatable at a public library would also help.

What are the best arguments, plural, against affirmative action?

Dear tailgunner:

Thank you for your question. I found ten very good arguments against
affirmative action in the pro-affirmative action article titled "Ten
Myths About Affirmative Action." Although they are (arguably) refuted
in the article, they are still very strong arguments, if not the
strongest arguments, against affirmative action.

#1: The only way to create a color-blind society is to adopt
color-blind policies.

#2: Affirmative action has not succeeded in increasing female and
minority representation.
 
#3: Affirmative action may have been necessary 30 years ago, but the
playing field is fairly level today.
 
#4: The public doesn't support affirmative action anymore.
 

#5: A large percentage of White workers will lose out if affirmative
action is continued.

#6: If Jewish people and Asian Americans can rapidly advance
economically, African Americans should be able to do the same.

#7: You can't cure discrimination with discrimination.

#8: Affirmative action tends to undermine the self-esteem of women and
racial minorities.

#9: Affirmative action is nothing more than an attempt at social
engineering by liberal Democrats.
 
#10: Support for affirmative action means support for preferential
selection procedures that favor unqualified candidates over qualified
candidates.

Source: http://www.socialpsychology.org/affirm.htm

The following articles are all written against affirmative action,
provided for further reading (mostly from the Google Directory linked
below):

The Case Against Affirmative Action
http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/1996/sepoct/articles/against.html

Affirmative Action: Solution of Confusion
http://www.fastpapers911.com/essays/w/26.html

Affirmative Action
http://www.fastpapers911.com/essays/d/27.html

How Affirmative Action Effects Us All
http://www.fastpapers911.com/aessays/a33.html

Also, here's a list of documents on Affirmative Action from UCSB, some
for and some against:
http://aad.english.ucsb.edu/pages/primary-docs.html


Related Google Directory: Affirmative Action > Against
http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Issues/Human_Rights_and_Liberties/Affirmative_Action/Against/


Google Search Terms:

   against affirmative action
   ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=against+affirmative+action&btnG=Google+Search


I hope this helps!

Best Regards,
blader-ga

Great answers.  I think I'm doing this right?...

I suggest that you check out books by the African American scholars
Thomas Sowell and Shelby Steele, each of whom has written several
books which are critical of affirmative action.

Sowell's "Affirmative Action Reconsidered: Was It Necessary in
Academia?" and "Civil Rights" are both out of print, but your library
may have copies.

Steele's "The Content of Our Character" and "A Dream Deferred: The
Second Betrayal of Black Freedom in America" are in print, and readily
available.

Other works by these authors are also excellent reading. Whether or
not one agrees with the political stance of Sowell and Steele, their
books and essays are well worth reading.

I forgot to mention that both the authors whom I mentioned have
homepages on the Web:

Shelby Steele
http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/bios/steele.html

Thomas Sowell
http://www.tsowell.com/

Many of Sowell's essays are archived on his site. Click on "SYNDICATED
COLUMNS BY THOMAS SOWELL." On the following page you will find a link
for "Thomas Sowell Archives" at the bottom of the page. Within the
archives, an article entitled "06/08/99: The other side of affirmative
action" might be of interest to you.