The Policy of Positive Discrimination for People With Disabilities: A Socio-Philosophical Analysis

The article analyzes the policy of positive discrimination for people with disabilities. In the framework of this policy, measures are most often developed and implemented in the fields of education, employment, and material support. The purpose of this policy is to strive to equalize the rights and opportunities of the previously discriminated group of people with disabilities. Despite the active implementation of "affirmative action", problems arise that are connected not only with the dissatisfaction of the target group, but also with the manifestation of discontent among people without disabilities. The author of the article aims to identify the reasons for the insolvency of the policy of positive discrimination for persons with disabilities. She assumes that the reason is the fact that interpretations of positive discrimination, despite their outwardly positive connotation, retain a discriminatory nature and rely on the same socio-philosophical foundations as in negative discrimination. Discrimination of people with disabilities is denoted by the terms "ableism" and "disablism"; the difference between them is the focus of attention. It is assumed that the prevailing theories of discrimination are based on the following theories: the concept of "Self-Other" in the understanding of "Other than the Self", justified by G. Hegel, J.-P. Sartre, J. Ortega y Gasset and criticized by M. Foucault, J. Butler; the norm theory developed by C. Durheim, R. Metron and investigated by T. Parsons, M. Foucault; the theory of stigma introduced by E. Goffman; as well as the theory of minorities, which causes numerous disputes in the academic community and is reflected in the works of M. Oliver, S. Burns, T. Shakespeare, E. Bernes on the topic of a discriminated minority. These concepts also maintain their fundamental position in interpreting policies of positive discrimination. Thus, the policy of positive discrimination, like negative discrimination, focuses on the binary opposition "Self-Other than the Self", although it acquires an outwardly positive character, and on the aspiration to help and adapt to the needs of a person with a disability. The policy of positive discrimination, partly because it is imposed from outside, does not solve the problem of stigmatization. Studies prove the prevalence of negative attitudes in the form of implicit ones. There is a change in the status of a minority from the discriminated to the dominant, and a transition from positive to reverse discrimination. The author comes to the conclusion that the inefficiency of the measures is determined by the methodology which is based, in fact, on the simple reversal of the opposition. In this regard, it can be concluded that, in order to change the current situation and include people with disabilities in society, it is necessary not only to develop various technologies and methods, but also to change the socio-philosophical foundations.

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