Class Quotas Substitute for Race Quotas
False Assumption: Class-based affirmative action will benefit blacks in elite admissions as much as race-based quotas by capturing the effects of systemic racial injustice through socioeconomic status.
Written by FARAgent on February 10, 2026
In the 1960s, Harvard began using race-based quotas to admit blacks. Over decades, the university built a black student body drawn from the upper tail of the black IQ distribution, often legacies or children of elites.
After the Supreme Court's 2023 Harvard decision and recent Ames ruling banned explicit racial discrimination, liberal pundits like David French proposed class-based quotas as a seamless replacement. French argued that considering individual socioeconomic adversity would disproportionately aid blacks due to historical injustice, leading to systemic change without race proxies.
Harvard crunched the numbers long ago and stuck with race quotas. Class preferences fill spots with poor whites and Asians, not enough high-ability blacks. Critics note the large black-white IQ gap means merit-based admissions without race boosts would slash black enrollment at elites, but mainstream voices ignore this reality.
People Involved
- In the wake of the Supreme Court's decisions on affirmative action, David French, a columnist for the New York Times, stepped forward to champion class-based quotas. He argued they would help black applicants just as much as racial ones, assuming socioeconomic factors could stand in for the effects of racial injustice. [1]
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson echoed this in her dissent in the Harvard case, pointing to wide gaps in health, wealth, and well-being that stemmed from past discrimination; she suggested class considerations would disproportionately aid blacks. [1]
- Justice Clarence Thomas, in his concurrence, allowed that schools could favor identified victims of discrimination or those facing individual hardships like low income, a point critics seized on to promote class quotas as a viable alternative. [1]
- Meanwhile, Steve Sailer issued warnings from the sidelines, predicting that scrapping race preferences would slash black enrollment at elite schools because of underlying IQ differences; he played the role of an ignored prophet in mainstream circles. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (4)
“For example, in the New York Times opinion section, David French blithely opines that last weeks’ Ames decision banning an example of discrimination against whites and Asians will usher in a new golden age of class-based quotas that will benefit blacks just as much as traditional race-based quotas:”— David French: Class Quotas Help Blacks As Much As Race Quotas
“As Jackson wrote in her dissenting opinion in the Harvard case: “Gulf-sized race-based gaps exist with respect to the health, wealth and well-being of American citizens. They were created in the distant past, but have indisputably been passed down to the present day through the generations.””— David French: Class Quotas Help Blacks As Much As Race Quotas
“And as Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his concurring opinion in the Harvard case, schools may grant “an admissions preference to identified victims of discrimination.” It can also take into account their individual struggles with, say, income or health.”— David French: Class Quotas Help Blacks As Much As Race Quotas
“Nobody with a mainstream career dares to state explicitly, “African Americans have a lot of strong suits on average, but very high intelligence is not one of them.” Hence, only a few widely hated Diogenes are honest enough to warn liberals that the end of racial preferences for blacks will have massive consequences for the black middle and upper middle class.”— David French: Class Quotas Help Blacks As Much As Race Quotas
Organizations Involved
Harvard University had relied on race quotas in admissions since the 1960s, often favoring privileged black applicants, such as legacies, over those from poorer backgrounds. [1] The institution ran internal analyses and concluded that class-based quotas fell short in maintaining similar levels of black enrollment. [1] At the same time, outlets like The New Yorker dismissed discussions of racial IQ differences as fringe notions tied to neo-reactionary thought, even as evidence mounted elsewhere. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“But instead, Harvard prefers black 3rd generation Harvard students like Malia Obama to underclass blacks. ... Harvard crunched the numbers on race quotas vs. class quotas and long ago discovered that class quotas don’t work as race quotas.”— David French: Class Quotas Help Blacks As Much As Race Quotas
“The New Yorker’s profile of Curtis Yarvin assumes the fact — the most thoroughly documented finding in all of American social science — “that not all racial or population groups are equally intelligent” must be some kind of nutball extremist delusion:”— David French: Class Quotas Help Blacks As Much As Race Quotas
The Foundation
The assumption took root because black-white gaps in wealth and health remained stark, making it seem plausible that socioeconomic assessments could capture the lingering effects of racial adversity. [1] Proponents drew on examples like the supposed frailty of figures such as LeBron James due to discrimination, fostering a view of universal black hardship. [1] Despite official consensus, a growing body of dissenters argues this overlooked how elite institutions admit blacks from the upper IQ percentiles, leading class quotas to favor poor whites and Asians instead. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“When there has been systemic injustice, individualized assessments of resilience and achievement will have a disproportionate positive effect on marginalized communities.”— David French: Class Quotas Help Blacks As Much As Race Quotas
“As we all know, African Americans, such as LeBron James, tend to be tragically frail, like tubercular early 19th Century Romantic poets and composers.”— David French: Class Quotas Help Blacks As Much As Race Quotas
How It Spread
After the Supreme Court struck down race-based quotas in key rulings, liberal opinion pages, including those in the New York Times, began promoting class-based alternatives as an effective substitute. [1] The idea gained traction in media and academic discussions, presented as a way to address systemic issues without direct racial considerations. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“in the New York Times opinion section, David French blithely opines that last weeks’ Ames decision”— David French: Class Quotas Help Blacks As Much As Race Quotas
Resulting Policies
Harvard's admissions process had incorporated race quotas since 1969, with a pattern of preferring legacies and elite black candidates over those from disadvantaged circumstances. [1] The Supreme Court's decisions in the Ames and Harvard cases outlawed racial discrimination in admissions, which led to proposals for shifting to class-based quotas as a workaround. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Why didn’t Harvard ever think of this since the 1960s?”— David French: Class Quotas Help Blacks As Much As Race Quotas
Harm Caused
Critics argue that abandoning race quotas without a true equivalent could cripple black enrollment among the middle and upper-middle classes at elite institutions. [1] Harvard's longstanding preference for privileged black applicants had helped sustain their numbers, and without it, growing questions surround whether class measures can prevent a sharp decline. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“honestly getting rid of racial discrimination against whites and Asians will devastate the number of blacks who qualify on their own merits.”— David French: Class Quotas Help Blacks As Much As Race Quotas
Downfall
Harvard conducted its own tests on class quotas and found they did not replicate the enrollment effects of race preferences, prompting the university to cling to existing practices where possible. [1] Dissenters point to large IQ gaps as the reason why class-based systems admit fewer high-ability black students, challenging the assumption despite the prevailing consensus. [1] This has sparked mounting evidence and debate, though the matter remains unsettled in mainstream views. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Harvard crunched the numbers on race quotas vs. class quotas and long ago discovered that class quotas don’t work as race quotas.”— David French: Class Quotas Help Blacks As Much As Race Quotas
Sources
- [1]