http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/02/the-trouble-with-diversity/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:29:05 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/02/the-trouble-with-diversity/comment-page-1/#comment-173952 TSC Wed, 04 Oct 2006 19:55:54 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/02/the-trouble-with-diversity/#comment-173952 It's hard to imagine a more compelling thesis at this moment in time than that made by Michaels: economic inequality is more pressing in most of our lives than cultural/racial diversity. The simplicity of the thesis makes it all the more difficult to take down. And if you're wondering whether the either/or way of putting it compromises the argument, you would be mistaken. The War on Poverty has been left behind -- far behind -- while the War on Racism has suceeded rather well. I have a dream that maybe some readers share: intellectuals would sit around talking about distribution of wealth rather than the cultural agency of marginalized people. The way to take someone out of the margins in this society is to pay them higher wages. It’s hard to imagine a more compelling thesis at this moment in time than that made by Michaels: economic inequality is more pressing in most of our lives than cultural/racial diversity. The simplicity of the thesis makes it all the more difficult to take down. And if you’re wondering whether the either/or way of putting it compromises the argument, you would be mistaken. The War on Poverty has been left behind—far behind—while the War on Racism has suceeded rather well. I have a dream that maybe some readers share: intellectuals would sit around talking about distribution of wealth rather than the cultural agency of marginalized people. The way to take someone out of the margins in this society is to pay them higher wages.

]]> http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/02/the-trouble-with-diversity/comment-page-1/#comment-173886 abb1 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 10:57:00 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/02/the-trouble-with-diversity/#comment-173886 Couldn't agree more with Mr. Michaels: all this fetishism around racial and ethnic diversity is stupid, tasteless and counterproductive (it sounds like this is what Michaels is saying, right?). Typical example of false consciousness. Couldn’t agree more with Mr. Michaels: all this fetishism around racial and ethnic diversity is stupid, tasteless and counterproductive (it sounds like this is what Michaels is saying, right?). Typical example of false consciousness.

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