Ethics Finder

Diversity

Like a number of terms that have come to prominence in recent social and political discourse, ‘diversity’, along with ‘identity’ and ‘multiculturalism’, is commonly used not as a neutral term of sociological description, but as a title for a set of recommended normative views. In the ordinary descriptive usage a group might be said to be ‘diverse’ in respect any number of features: age, weight, physical ability, mental aptitude, education, culture, beliefs, interests, etc. As such, it would be an open question whether a group’s being diverse, similar, or uniform in any or all of these respects is good, bad or indifferent – and similarly for ‘identity’ and ‘culture’. In the current socio-political usage, however, there are two unstated assumptions: a) that only certain features count so far as diversity is concerned, and b) that diversity in respect of these is valuable. So, for example, ethnic, sexual, and/or cultural variety count, and are held to be desirable; but diversity of opinions about whether these are important or about the value of diversity do not. This might be termed ‘the paradox of diversity advocacy’. The rationale of advocating for it is the belief that existing features of society, specifically ones that manifest traditional norms of identity are unjust. Hence the linking of diversity advocacy with criticisms of ‘heteronormativity’, ‘the cultural canon’, ‘xenophobia’, ‘white privilege’ etc. One deep issue raised by diversity, most often discussed in relation to multiculturalism, is how far it can extend without undermining the coherence and unity necessary for the stable existence of society.

Related Topics