Davis, Cindy L.

English

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International Social Science Review
Volume 95 | Issue 1 Article 12
April 2019
Book Review: Our Compelling Interests: The
Value of Diversity for Democracy and a Prosperous
Society by Earl Lewis & Nancy Cantor
Cindy L. Davis
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Recommended Citation
Davis, Cindy L. (2019) "Book Review: Our Compelling Interests: The Value of Diversity for Democracy and a Prosperous Society by
Earl Lewis & Nancy Cantor," International Social Science Review: Vol. 95 : Iss. 1 , Article 12.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.northgeorgia.edu/issr/vol95/iss1/12
Lewis, Earl and Nancy Cantor, eds. Our Compelling Interests: The Value of Diversity for 
Democracy and a Prosperous Society. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016. xv + 288 
pages. Paperback, $19.95. 
Our Compelling Interests: The Value of Diversity for Democracy and a Prosperous 
Society (2016) brings together information that provides demographic, theoretical, and applied 
perspectives on diversity. While diversity has been a social and political issue for some time, 
diversity as defined and practiced in policy has not kept pace with the contemporary reality of 
American society. This volume points out that diversity is an evolving concept and if not 
understood as such, will continue to be defined and practiced in a manner that does not match the 
changing needs of the nation.  
The volume begins with a two-part introductory section providing needed background 
information. Lewis and Cantor state that this is the first in a series that will seek to place 
diversity in the modern social landscape. The second piece in the introductory section, “The 
‘Diversity Explosion’ Is America’s Twenty-first-Century Baby Boom” by Frey, provides 
demographic and statistical data essential to better understanding the essays and commentaries in 
the text. Frey notes key changes including growth of new minority groups, decline in the white 
population, economic advances for black populations, and a shift toward a no majority racial 
group nation (after the year 2040). After outlining demographic changes, Frey provides a 
framework to meet these changes, such as a focus on the cultural generation gap.  
Part One of the volume contains essays that present key issues in understanding diversity. 
Sugrue’s “Less Separate, Still Unequal: Diversity and Equality in ‘Post-Civil Rights’ America” 
focuses on the distinction between diversity and equality. In his essay, Sugrue paints a realistic 
portrait of how even though there may be increases in diversity or “public” acceptance of 
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diversity, there remains a deep divide in equality and opportunity in areas from housing to 
education to the workplace. This raises a series of tough questions that should be addressed about 
the relationship between diversity and inequality.  
Allen’s “Toward a Connected Society” provides a conceptual perspective explaining that 
prior concepts like assimilation and multiculturalism should be replaced by the ideal of social 
connectedness in order to achieve a cultural transformation leading to a more democratic and 
egalitarian society. Allen raises a series of challenges that face the creation of a socially 
connected America such as the traditional American binary concept of black/nonblack. Diversity 
as a reality has expanded beyond this binary and it is necessary to find a way to move beyond it.  
“The Economic Value of Diversity” by Carnevale and Smith provides a clear statement 
on the importance of diversity for the workplace and points out that diversity in higher education 
is crucial for this. The authors note that it is not just demographics at play but also structural 
shifts in the economy itself. They then provide policy recommendations including those focused 
on how to address inequalities in the higher education system.  
Part Two of the volume provides a series of brief commentaries on diversity issues in 
America. Appiah’s “The Diversity of Diversity” begins by explaining how the term diversity has 
been examined under a range of terms and connects them together with the idea of social 
identity. He explains that the concept of difference has changed in the contemporary era, but that 
people continue to fall into “as-thinking,” making it important to recognize differences in social 
identity, when relevant. Gurin’s “Group Interactions in Building a Connected Society” focuses 
on the important role of completing some form of education, not just having the opportunity to 
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enter the higher education arena. Gurin notes the importance of different groups interacting and 
sharing with one another including the frequency of interactions and the quality of interactions. 
The final two commentaries effectively bring the pieces in the volume together. 
Katznelson’s “Diversity and Institutional Life: Levels and Objects” reflects on diversity and on 
the contents of the volume overall by dividing diversity into substantive domains and analytical 
categories. “Diversity as a Strategic Advantage: A Sociodemographic Perspective” by Tienda 
returns to demographic data but explains that she is less enthusiastic that an optimistic narrative 
will evolve from the changing demographics, pointing to the continued institutional segregation 
and continued gaps of wealth. While she sees diversity as potentially being a strength, there are 
problems accepting and leveraging this strength. There is a return in this chapter, like others, to 
the importance of education and developing youth and the idea that policy rather than 
demographics is what is needed to ensure positive change.  
As an inaugural volume, I believe the series is off to a good start but will be especially 
useful once followed up. While many of the demographic and statistical issues will remain on the 
same path, as the social, cultural, economic, and political landscape changes, so too will the 
series need to change. Many of the essays come to similar points regarding the importance of 
diversity, most notably in education and in examining the youth of today, rendering some 
demographic content repetitive. However, as a series this volume has the potential to show the 
development of ideas on diversity and democracy during a changing social and political 
landscape as the volume provides a perspective that sits between the presidential administrations 
of Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The text was written prior to Donald Trump taking office, 
and hence the perspective taken by many of the pieces is a snapshot of that moment in time, a 
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snapshot of that hope, albeit worried and unstable, of the potential of President Obama being 
able to ring in the beginning of a “post-racial society.” The tone in America regarding diversity 
has since become much less filled with hope. This is why texts addressing the evolving concept 
of diversity are especially relevant today.  
 
 
Cindy L. Davis, Ph.D. 
Associate Professor in Public Administration 
Stephen F. Austin State University 
Nacogdoches, Texas 
 
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Book Review: Our Compelling Interests: The Value of Diversity for Democracy and a Prosperous Society by Earl Lewis & Nancy Cantor

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Book Review: Our Compelling Interests: The Value of Diversity for Democracy and a Prosperous Society by Earl Lewis & Nancy Cantor

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