Thanks John Hardly, for a good, broad, thoughtful overview.

That law is necesary to prevent unlawful business practices is a bit of a tautology, and I assume you mean unethical or immoral practices. Maybe we've become accustomed to side-stepping those expressions, but there's really no way to avoid that we have our values.

   I disagree in matters of degree in many respects. Simply for example, affirmative action is a counterbalance to a pretty demonstrable inequity. Anyone in business knows that contacts, friends, family, can work in one's favor. It's easy to pretend that merit is what gets people jobs and pay, so that race is not a factor, but it is, and not just race, but mere Cuteness makes a scientifically demonstrable difference in hiring practices. Results matter in the end, but one has to be given a chance, based on a value judgement. The myth is that a business is run like a business. But it is run according to the values and culture of those who run it, whatever God-like judgement they pretend to have or represent. Affirmative action is a necesary, temporary, evil. Like a labour union, it's a stupid thing made necesary by something even stupider, more evil.

   I don't think the health of an economy is based on money or "productivity" but on what we value, don't you think?

   Again, thanks.