The debate over the implementation of affirmative action in the workplace, at school, and in national and global politics continues to be complicated by demographic changes and shifts in power genre that have an effect on the world. Affirmative action is based on the principle of implementing fairness and the equal distribution of economic and political power equally among all members of society despite differences in gender, religion or race. Affirmative action laws have been used to increase diversity in the workplace, school, politics, economy, and other social institutions to create tolerant communities and equitable distribution of man-made and natural resources. Affirmative action has also provided marginalized communities and groups with opportunities in the workplace, school, business, and politics. Affirmative action is also used by equal rights activists to reverse years of oppression on marginalized groups to equalize and level the playing field in schools, the workplace, the economy, politics, and other social institutions. Despite these benefits of affirmative action, the fact is that affirmative action is reverse discrimination against majority groups in society. Affirmative action also runs counter to the guiding principle of merit for public and private positions in social, political, and economic institutions, relying instead on race and gender as guiding principles in admissions and hiring, putting off deserving applicants because they do not belong to marginalized groups. Affirmative action also promotes common stereotypes of marginalized groups and the female gender instead of creating a level playing field for all members of society. To promote truly fair treatment of all members of society, it is critical that social, economic, and political institutions prohibit affirmative action. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Affirmative action policies and laws have been established in workplaces, school admissions, economic opportunities, and political settings to provide greater opportunities for marginalized groups who would otherwise be excluded from these institutions. While the principle of affirmative action has good intentions to integrate marginalized groups into social, political, and economic institutions, the reality is that this practice promotes reverse discrimination. Reverse discrimination causes members of majority groups to be denied opportunities based on merit to be given to marginalized groups who have experienced oppression and lack of opportunity in the past. Universal human rights consider all people equal despite differences in gender, ethnicity, race and literacy and therefore all people should be treated equally and have equal opportunities for positions and admissions into social, economic and political institutions. The practice of affirmative action denies members of majority or well-positioned groups from access to the opportunities they deserve. One example is Stanford University's admissions policies that favored marginalized groups in recruiting, admissions, hiring, contracting, and the distribution of financial aid to marginalized groups. This policy led individuals from middle- and upper-class, Asian, and white backgrounds to access admissions, financial aid, and hiring at Stanford (Sander 381). The racial and gender composition of individuals is therefore the dominant factor in admissions and hiring instead.