Can democracy and diversity be friends?
Can democracy and diversity be friends?
- September 28, 2012
- Jennifer Lee, sociology professor, is featured in Zocalo Public Square in September 2012
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From Zocalo:
We tend to think that both democracy and diversity are good things; many of us even
say that diversity is a strength. But others have argued that our polyglot nation
is too big, too complex—simply too diverse—to boast a healthy and vibrant democracy.
Zócalo editor and Center for Social Cohesion fellow Joe Mathews opened a Zócalo/Cal
Humanities “Searching for Democracy” event by asking three social scholars and thinkers
which side is right... University of California Irvine sociologist Jennifer Lee said
that Americans have made some false assumptions about diversity. Diversity, she said,
does not lead to political polarization. With the exception of certain hot-button
issues like gay rights and abortion, Americans today are no more polarized than they
were 40 years ago—even though they are much more diverse. But she said that America
is not a post-racial nation, even though some Americans assume we have arrived at
that point. Race matters—and it does so more profoundly for African Americans than
any other group, despite the fact that we have an African American president.
For the full story, please visit http://zocalopublicsquare.org/thepublicsquare/2012/09/25/can-democracy-a....
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