tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7917889028116824739.post6525663679088578140..comments2023-07-03T06:08:55.373-07:00Comments on Ritik Dholakia: The Turtle Theory of DiversityProfessor Atishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01473365932161328377noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7917889028116824739.post-14058103806576540142007-08-21T19:59:00.000-07:002007-08-21T19:59:00.000-07:00Thanks for the Open Left post, Eli, a good perspec...Thanks for the Open Left post, Eli, a good perspective. My take is pretty simple - even if Putnam's analysis of the data proves good, it does nothing to nullify the goal and the social benefit of greater diversity. It may simply signal that fostering communities that are both diverse and harmonious may prove to be more difficult. But that is not a basis for negating a moral and social good. I think we're probably on the same page on that count.Professor Atishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01473365932161328377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7917889028116824739.post-34547589729164215832007-08-16T17:34:00.000-07:002007-08-16T17:34:00.000-07:00here is a good response to the release of the Putn...here is a good response to the release of the Putnam study from a "social change" perspective:<BR/><BR/>http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=826Elihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12217050597914537569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7917889028116824739.post-71570803039586731252007-08-15T21:30:00.000-07:002007-08-15T21:30:00.000-07:00good article. I've read before that one reason fo...good article. I've read before that one reason for the success of the social-welfare state in scandinavian countries is based on relative racial homogeneity.<BR/><BR/>But despite all the X's Putnam says he controlled for, I'd like to see the data comparing diverse poor communities vs. diverse rich ones -- and I wonder about the sample size for the latter.<BR/><BR/>Nevertheless, the study, while disappointing to the generally-shared hopes for a happy multicultural society, does not seem that surprising, as diverse communities are more likely to be economically insecure ones, and as our politics and media have played up racially-coded fears of crime for a long time now.<BR/><BR/>An interesting question would be to see if the same types of distrust, etc., held up for communities of diverse Europeans immigrants in the early parts of the century and whether the same "diverse" communities today share the same features. Because I suspect racial tolerance and trust is something that has to be built over time, or at least racial difference made less salient over generations. That seems to be Putnam's view later in the article.<BR/><BR/>No one said living together was supposed to be easy...Elihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12217050597914537569noreply@blogger.com