The Dilemma of Equality and Diversity

Abstract

The tension between the values of economic equality and diversity can be found throughout the world, and yet it rarely is recognized by scholars, partly because it deals with the sensitive area of culture and poverty. This article will focus on where this tension comes from, how and where it is expressed both worldwide and in the United States, and why anthropologists and sociologists neglect it. The tension expresses itself in predicaments in contexts ranging from government policy (e.g., on indigenous groups) to the workings of local antipoverty nonprofits, often confounding attempts to deal with the issue of inequality. The issue is neglected for a number of reasons, including the preferred narratives of poverty scholars and their assumptions about human aspiration and fault. Instead, I argue for better attention to the complexities of human action, culture, and agency in order to understand poverty and inequality.