Diversity in America : Keeping Government at a Safe Distance

by SCHUCK PETER H.

• ISBN13: 9780674010536
• ISBN10: 0674010531
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-05-19
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr

Summary

America is the first society in history to make ethno-racial diversity an affirmative social ideal rather than viewing it as a fearful menace, as almost all other societies still do. Since the 1960s, America has pursued this ideal in many forms--not only to remedy past discrimination against minorities but also to increase diversity for its own sake. It is high time for an accounting. How diverse are we now and what can we expect in the future? Why do we, unlike the rest of the world, think that diversity is desirable and that more of it is better? What risks does diversity pose? What are the roles of law, politics, and informal social controls in promoting diversity? How can we manage diversity better? In this magisterial book, Peter H. Schuck explains how Americans have understood diversity, how we came to embrace it, how the government regulates it now, and how we can do better. He mobilizes a wealth of conceptual, historical, legal, political, and sociological analysis to argue that diversity is best managed not by the government but by families, ethnic groups, religious communities, employers, voluntary organizations, and other civil society institutions. Analyzing some of the most controversial policy arenas where politics and diversity intersect--immigration, multiculturalism, language, affirmative action, residential neighborhoods, religious practices, faith-based social services, and school choice--Schuck reveals the conflicts, trade-offs, and ironies entailed by our commitment to the diversity ideal. He concludes with recommendations to help us manage the challenge of diversity in the future.

Author Biography

Peter H. Schuck is Simeon E. Baldwin Professor of Law, Yale University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
I THINKING ABOUT DIVERSITY
First Thoughts	3	(16)
Taxonomies, Sources, and Legal Structures	19	(21)
A New Ideal and Why It Matters	40	(35)
II MANAGING DIVERSITY
Immigration: Importing and Assimilating Diversity	75	(59)
Affirmative Action: Defining and Certifying Diversity	134	(69)
Residential Neighborhoods: Subsidizing and Mandating Diversity	203	(58)
Religion: Protecting and Exploiting Diversity	261	(48)
Concluding Thoughts: Premises, Principles, Policies, and Punctilios	309	(30)
Notes	339	(100)
Index	439