text: how has affirmative action effected ethics? i'm currently doing a report on the impact of affirmative action in the u.s.  the one plateau i'm stuck on right now is how exactly has affirmative action effected ethics, not "how do ethics effect affirmative action" but "how does affirmative action effect ethics" affirmative action is legalized discrimination.  by giving "minority" persons an unearned edge, affirmative action suggests that a "minority" person is less capable than a "non-minority" person.  by its nature, then, affirmative action is unethical.  it not only implies inferiority of "minorities", but it also forces people in authority to make unethical decisions.