Trouble with Diversity

“Commitment to diversity is at best a distraction and at worst an essentially reactionary position that prevents us from putting equality at the center of the national agenda,” ()according to Walter Benn Michaels, in his 2004 essay, “The Trouble with Diversity.” Upon hearing the word 'diversity,' members of society may immediately think of race. and political correctness urges society to support racial diversity. According to many, celebrating diversity is the best way to combat societal inequality. This is because people are convinced that the differences that divide society are the results of racial prejudices. Michaels, however, feels that the biggest problem in America is not that of sexism or racism, but instead the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. So if the problem is actually in the economy... The fact that people re-describe economic inequality as racial inequality is counterproductive to equality because people are simply trying to solve a different problem. But how did the notion that what separates us is race even start?

In his essay, The Trouble with Diversity, Michaels' earliest connection between race and class is in reference of "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald's book, among many other books, shows a vision of a society that is divided by race, rather than economic class. So the differences that divides society are the differences between those who are white and those of who are not-so-white. If the perceived reason for the gap between the rich and the poor is racism, then the solution to economic inequality must be opposing racism. However, believing that classes are separated by race encourages the notion that class itself is a version of race, and that the rich and the poor ar...

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...mpensation for transport is less severe on the consumer's budget. Consequently, Americans who save more money will also be able to better afford the costs of living, which reduces homelessness, a large problem in the U.S.

By prioritizing the appreciation of cultural diversity, society distracts itself from obtaining economic equality. As a result, society is prevented from experiencing the possible outcomes of following Michaels advice. So the reality in which poorer Americans have a better chance of competing in the academic world and having a larger income to spend on gas and consumables (as well the costs of living) will not exist. It is important to know that Michaels does not believe that appreciating cultural diversity is inherently bad, but that it just doesn't help solve the thornier problem in America – the economic inequality between the rich and the poor.