Defending Discrimination

This was originally posted on PoodleRose on August 12, 2013. Comments have not been migrated.

Discrimination, we are often told, is a bad thing. Indeed, there are many laws on the books, at every level of government, that prohibit individuals from discriminating on the basis of race, gender, religion, and much more. Like many words, discrimination has developed a bad reputation.

Consider these two definitions offered by Oxford Online:

• the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex
• recognition and understanding of the difference between one thing and another

These two definitions give the word much different meanings. The first definition carries with it a moral evaluation–injustice–while the second definition is morally neutral. The first definition applies to instances of making an irrational judgment, such as hiring someone solely on the basis of his skin color or sex. The second definition applies to instances in which there are differences that rationally matter, such as the qualifications of two job applicants.

The first definition is an attempt to blur the distinction between rational discrimination and irrational discrimination. It is, ironically, an attempt to avoid discrimination between the rational and the irrational.

The fact is, everyone discriminates on a daily basis. You do it when you go to McDonald’s rather than Burger King, when you marry Jim rather than Joe, when you watch American Idol rather than The Voice. Every choice that we make involves discrimination—recognizing differences and choosing accordingly.