Monday, June 3, 2013

On diversity and conformity

John Stuart Mill in On Liberty

In our modern parlance, diversity usually is a synonym for conformity of a particular type. Too much diversity overwhelms any system but every system benefits from at least some diversity.
The demand that all people shall resemble ourselves, grows by what it feeds on. If resistance waits till life is reduced nearly to one uniform type, all deviations from that type will come to be considered impious, immoral, even monstrous and contrary to nature. Mankind speedily becomes unable to conceive diversity, when they have been for some time unaccustomed to see it.


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