Underneath the conundrum of not enough jobs to absorb the population with its attendant preferential treatment is the question of job creation: who does it? Gung-ho statists will say the state, and it is true that there is a role of the state in this effort, but free-market advocates will reply that wealth-creation and job creation are primarily the business of the private sector, and will be enhanced when taxes are low and unions and entitlements are reined in so that they do not serve unhelpful ends.
If we do not address this division of labor between state sectors and private sectors (and we need both, but how?), there is no way out of the affirmative action mess, or of any other of the debates now on the table.