What do quotas do? Reflections on the ubiquity and justice of quotas

Abstract

The paper discusses quotas as a matter of fact and a matter of principle (of social justice). The first path of analysis departs from theoretical findings about the modernization of Western societies to arrive at the insight that quotas are an empirical fact of life in modern capitalist societies and thus indispensable to the functioning of modern meritocracy. This insight is followed by a second step of argument concerned with normative justifications of quotas for the disadvantaged and discussing the normative promise of quota policies in relation to their practical effects on recruitment practices, structures and norms, and on the meritocratic allocation of social positions. The final part of analysis tackles the justifiability of quotas as a means to foster the social inclusion and political representation of youth.