This is a very depressing study. Harvard's Robert Putnam has found that increased societal diversity leads to diminished solidarity.
A bleak picture of the corrosive effects of ethnic diversity has been revealed in research by Harvard University's Robert Putnam, one of the world's most influential political scientists.
His research shows that the more diverse a community is, the less likely its inhabitants are to trust anyone - from their next-door neighbour to the mayor.
This is a contentious finding in the current climate of concern about the benefits of immigration. Professor Putnam told the Financial Times he had delayed publishing his research until he could develop proposals to compensate for the negative effects of diversity, saying it "would have been irresponsible to publish without that".
The core message of the research was that, "in the presence of diversity, we hunker down", he said. "We act like turtles. The effect of diversity is worse than had been imagined. And it's not just that we don't trust people who are not like us. In diverse communities, we don't trust people who do look like us."
Prof Putnam found trust was lowest in Los Angeles, "the most diverse human habitation in human history", but his findings also held for rural South Dakota, where "diversity means inviting Swedes to a Norwegians' picnic".
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Prof Putnam found trust was lowest in Los Angeles, "the most diverse human habitation in human history", but his findings also held for rural South Dakota, where "diversity means inviting Swedes to a Norwegians' picnic".
However, I find hope in that the group of people that is perceived as the "other" is not fixed and typically--although not always--decreases.
This isn't all that surprising. I see it as an extension of the reaction of racism.
When put in a position of mistrust of those in the community, the mistrust of all increases. Was the level of mistrust in those that "look like us" as increased as for those of other races?
What this doesn't answer, and sadly, it doesn't really do much in the advancement of the science of human interaction, is how much of this is genetic and how much of it is social indoctrination.
Also does it talk about the size of the group? I grew up in L.A. and would say I have an equal level of trust of all races, which isn't saying a high level of trust, but an equal level. But I grew up in a large city and my ability to trust people seems a lot lower than friends that grew up in smaller towns, even those that were decently racially integrated.
So while interesting, not what I would consider significantly important, at least until we can see what the results were and how the research was conducted, how much bias was inserted, etc.