Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. —George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

We have often had occasion to dilate on the Orwellian nature of the phrase “affirmative action” in this space. We are going to do so again. Memories are short; ideological pressure is unremitting; in short, some things cannot be repeated too often. Rhetorically, as we all know, “affirmative action” is redolent of high principle and the struggle for equality. One can almost hear strains of the Marseillaise echoing behind its syllables—or maybe that sound is only the thump of a judge’s gavel ordering some new social experiment. In any event, “affirmative action” suggests, . . . well, something good: something positive, something affirmative. (Also, of course, something pragmatic: we’re talkin ...

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