Which best describes the reasoning behind the practice of "affirmative action"?
A) allowing people to join labor unions
B) providing payments to descendents of slavery
C) penalizing racial groups who previously enslaved others
Eliminate
D) providing aid to groups of people previously discriminated against

Affirmative action  is needed for:

D) providing aid to groups of people previously discriminated against

Explanation:

The population of people that were previously discriminated against have harder economic and social condition than the class that were privileged during the time so they have it harder to study, harder to function in the society and harder to be in school.

To curb the gap between the two affirmative action takes place for the groups that ere discriminated against to make them more likely to study and develop to the level of the privileged.

basic principles: federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, representative democracy, limited government, rule of law, individual rights and responsibilities, consent of the governed, majority rule, popular sovereignty, equal protection.