RON UNZ The Disappearance of American Meritocracy For at least the last two generations, American conservatives have been loudly complaining about the racially-based employment and admission policies widely described as “affirmative action.” I know this to be true because as a youngster in the 1970s, strong opposition to affirmative action was the primary issue that gradually drew me towards the Republican Party, until I finally cast my first presidential vote for Ronald Reagan in 1980. Yet although Republicans have held the White House and Congress during much of this…
