by the Economist

About the author: The Economist is an international daily newspaper covering economics, business, and politics.

The latest struggle in America's two decades of anguish over racial preferences is grinding towards a possible conclusion. The Supreme Court [in early April 2003] heard the most significant race-discrimination case for a generation. 1 Emotions are running high on both sides of the debate. Despite this, the court should not merely tinker with the concept of affirmative action, as it has done in the past. It should boldly rule out the use of race as a factor in university admissions, setting aside an outdated idea which is now doing America more harm than good.

In 1997, three white students with good marks were denied places at the University of Michigan, one at its law school. All three sued the university for discrimination, arguing...