There’s an old saying that goes: “an idea so ridiculous only an academic could believe it.” It seems to apply frequently as more professors sink deeper into the quicksand of progressivism.
One academic who sees reality squarely, however, is Duke University’s John Staddon. He has just published a new book entitled Inevitable Differences: An Inquiry into Human Variation, and I review it today for the Martin Center.
Many academics, Staddon observes, are infatuated with “diversity,” but what they have in mind is artificially engineered diversity so that various groups will have the right “representation.” This collides with the fact that groups don’t have rights or abilities — individuals do.
Staddon also takes issue with egalitarians who insist that society must be coercively restructured so that no one “unfairly” benefits from his or her natural talents.
He clashes with academics who see racism as the explanation for every group variation, dutifully ignoring all other explanations.
Here’s a quotation that gives you a good idea about the book:
If SATs and advanced math courses are abolished, disparities will indeed be reduced, but at what cost? The solution is not to trash math education because some groups are bad at math. The solution is to recognize that different people are good at different things and arrange the education system accordingly. . . . Contra Kendi, Darity et al, we should ignore diversity of race but recognize and celebrate diversity of talent.
Indeed so. Let’s abandon the destructive notions about equality and benefit from the fact that people are not equal in ability.