Diversity's Dark Side
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=090507A
Diversity's Dark Side
By John Luik : 11 Sep 2007
For at least the last twenty years the cultural and political elites of the United States have
championed the cause of multiculturalism by claiming that diversity was something that
made all of us better. Little effort was ever made to define precisely just what was meant by
diversity, difference or most crucially "better." Nor was there any significant research that
provided empirical support for the claim that multiculturalism and diversity translated into
better people, better communities, better organizations and businesses or a better country.
But now a considerable amount of solid evidence about multiculturalism is in, and it
suggests that far from something positive, it is a corroding and corrupting influence on just
about everything that it comes in contact with, from social capital, trust, and community
spirit to altruism, volunteering, friendship and even happiness.
That's the startling conclusion from Harvard's Robert Putnam best known as the author of
Bowling Alone. According to Putnam a variety of research from the United States, Canada,
Australia and Europe shows that ethnic diversity is associated with lower social trust, lower
"investment in public goods," less reciprocity, and less willingness to contribute to the
community.
In workplace situations diversity is associated with "lower group cohesion, lower
satisfaction and higher turnover."
Putnam's own research in the United States, confirms this international picture. In the Social
Capital Community Benchmark Survey carried out in 41 US communities ranging from
Bismarck, North Dakota to Boston and involving 30,000 individuals, Putnam found that the
"more ethnically diverse the people we live around, the less we trust them." This translates
into nine particularly troubling behaviours, including reduced confidence in government
and in one's ability to influence politics, reduced voter registration and interest in social
change, lowered expectations about the willingness of others to work together
cooperatively, less charitable giving and volunteering, fewer close friends, a reduced
quality of life and more time spent watching television. Indeed, one could hardly come up
with a list of behaviours more likely to undermine democratic society.
But the consequences of the multicultural diversity extend beyond its effect on social and
community engagement. For instance, criminologists have found that effective community
policing is much more difficult in areas with increased ethnic diversity.
[Of course it is open to defenders of multiculturalism to argue that Putnam's findings are
skewed by the fact that poverty, crime and diversity are themselves interconnected, making
causal conclusions difficult. But Putnam's research show that even in comparing equally
poor and equally crime-infested neighbourhoods the outcome is the same "greater ethnic
diversity is associated with less trust in neighbours."]
Putnam's findings should not come as a surprise. For instance, studies from business, which
has been one of diversity's greatest champions, have shown that diversity produced few if
any positive effects on business performance. One major study even concluded that
industry should move beyond trying to build a business case for the benefits of diversity
and multiculturalism, since there was no empirical evidence to support such a case.
In part this is due to the fact that homogeneous teams tend to outperform diverse groups
because diverse groups often suffer from communication and process problems. As
psychologists Katherine Williams and Charles O'Reilly have noted "The preponderance of
empirical evidence suggests that diversity is most likely to impede group functioning."
As a champion of multicultural diversity, Putnam finds his results disturbing and he has
been reluctant to publish them. The only place to find them is in a speech reprinted in the
academic journal Scandinavian Political Studies. And even there the data is not provided,
only summarized. Putnam told the Financial Times that he "had delayed publishing his
results until he could develop proposals to compensate for the negative effects of diversity."
Next
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=090507A
Diversity's Dark Side
By John Luik : 11 Sep 2007
For at least the last twenty years the cultural and political elites of the United States have
championed the cause of multiculturalism by claiming that diversity was something that
made all of us better. Little effort was ever made to define precisely just what was meant by
diversity, difference or most crucially "better." Nor was there any significant research that
provided empirical support for the claim that multiculturalism and diversity translated into
better people, better communities, better organizations and businesses or a better country.
But now a considerable amount of solid evidence about multiculturalism is in, and it
suggests that far from something positive, it is a corroding and corrupting influence on just
about everything that it comes in contact with, from social capital, trust, and community
spirit to altruism, volunteering, friendship and even happiness.
That's the startling conclusion from Harvard's Robert Putnam best known as the author of
Bowling Alone. According to Putnam a variety of research from the United States, Canada,
Australia and Europe shows that ethnic diversity is associated with lower social trust, lower
"investment in public goods," less reciprocity, and less willingness to contribute to the
community.
In workplace situations diversity is associated with "lower group cohesion, lower
satisfaction and higher turnover."
Putnam's own research in the United States, confirms this international picture. In the Social
Capital Community Benchmark Survey carried out in 41 US communities ranging from
Bismarck, North Dakota to Boston and involving 30,000 individuals, Putnam found that the
"more ethnically diverse the people we live around, the less we trust them." This translates
into nine particularly troubling behaviours, including reduced confidence in government
and in one's ability to influence politics, reduced voter registration and interest in social
change, lowered expectations about the willingness of others to work together
cooperatively, less charitable giving and volunteering, fewer close friends, a reduced
quality of life and more time spent watching television. Indeed, one could hardly come up
with a list of behaviours more likely to undermine democratic society.
But the consequences of the multicultural diversity extend beyond its effect on social and
community engagement. For instance, criminologists have found that effective community
policing is much more difficult in areas with increased ethnic diversity.
[Of course it is open to defenders of multiculturalism to argue that Putnam's findings are
skewed by the fact that poverty, crime and diversity are themselves interconnected, making
causal conclusions difficult. But Putnam's research show that even in comparing equally
poor and equally crime-infested neighbourhoods the outcome is the same "greater ethnic
diversity is associated with less trust in neighbours."]
Putnam's findings should not come as a surprise. For instance, studies from business, which
has been one of diversity's greatest champions, have shown that diversity produced few if
any positive effects on business performance. One major study even concluded that
industry should move beyond trying to build a business case for the benefits of diversity
and multiculturalism, since there was no empirical evidence to support such a case.
In part this is due to the fact that homogeneous teams tend to outperform diverse groups
because diverse groups often suffer from communication and process problems. As
psychologists Katherine Williams and Charles O'Reilly have noted "The preponderance of
empirical evidence suggests that diversity is most likely to impede group functioning."
As a champion of multicultural diversity, Putnam finds his results disturbing and he has
been reluctant to publish them. The only place to find them is in a speech reprinted in the
academic journal Scandinavian Political Studies. And even there the data is not provided,
only summarized. Putnam told the Financial Times that he "had delayed publishing his
results until he could develop proposals to compensate for the negative effects of diversity."
Next
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