Civil Wrongs is a long-overdue examination of the philosophical heart of affirmative action and multiculturalism. By returning to the philosophical roots of affirmative action, Civil Wrongs uncovers why it has been unsuccessful in resolving the dilemmas of racial, ethnic, gender, and class discrimination in America. Yates traces how the goals of President Kennedy's Executive Order No. 10925, which first ordered "affirmative action," have been extensively undermined.

The ideological force behind this deviation is what Yates calls The Philosophy of Social Engineering - deeply antagonistic to the principles on which the United States was founded - and remarkably close to the totalitarian ideologies which have spawned misery around the globe.

Civil Wrongs details a fresh counter-argument for reinvigorating civil rights activism - the Philosophy of Social Spontaneity - which demonstrates that civil rights can be upheld without detrimental government intervention while simultaneously offering women and minorities the opportunity to rise on their own merits.