The Diversity Myth

Overview

This is a powerful exploration of the debilitating impact that politically correct “multiculturalism” has had upon higher education and academic freedom in the United States. In the name of diversity, many leading academic and cultural institutions are working to silence dissent and stifle intellectual life. This book exposes the real impact of multiculturalism on the institution most closely identified with the politically correct decline of higher education—Stanford University. Authored by two Stanford graduates, this book is a compelling insider’s tour of a world of speech codes, “dumbed-down” admissions standards and curricula, campus witch hunts, and anti-Western zealotry that masquerades as legitimate scholarly inquiry. Sacks and Thiel use numerous primary sources—the Stanford Daily, class readings, official university publications—to reveal a pattern of politicized classes, housing, budget priorities, and more. They trace the connections between such disparate trends as political correctness, the gender wars, Generation X nihilism, and culture wars, showing how these have played a role in shaping multiculturalism at institutions like Stanford. The authors convincingly show that multiculturalism is not about learning more; it is actually about learning less. They end their comprehensive study by detailing the changes necessary to reverse the tragic disintegration of American universities and restore true academic excellence.

Reviews

"Reveals the intellectual corruption that captured one of our nation’s premier universities." —Edwin W. Meese, III, former United States Attorney General

"By detailing the corruption of our academic ideals, [the authors] have hastened the much-needed and long-awaited restoration of higher education." —Christopher Cox, United States Congressman

"A devastating indictment of how a great university came close to being destroyed." —Philip Merrill, president and publisher, Washingtonian

"Two recent Stanford graduates document the situation there with a thoroughness that should help stiffen the spine of university administrators." —René Girard, professor of comparative literature, Stanford University

"There’s hardly a better source than this book for learning why multiculturalism on campus cannot work." —Linda Chavez, former director, US Commission on Civil Rights

"A great read, and an important and instructive story... will not just cause alarm about our educational institutions, it will inspire renewal." —William Kristol, editor and publisher, The Weekly Standard

"The Diversity Myth shows how McCarthyism on the left is as dangerous as it is on the right. Read and weep for what is happening at our colleges." —Richard D. Lamm, former governor of Colorado

"With fascinating and often disheartening detail, The Diversity Myth is the most thorough and detailed account yet available of what "multiculturalism" has meant at a major American university." —Nathan Glazer, professor of education and sociology, Harvard University

Author Biography

David O. Sacks is vice president of product strategy at PayPal, Inc. He has worked as a legislative aide to U.S. Representative Christopher Cox and received his A.B. in economics from Stanford University. His articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, National Review, Policy Review, and Academic Questions. Peter A. Thiel is chairman and CEO at PayPal, Inc. He has worked as a derivatives trader at Credit Suisse Financial Products, a securities lawyer for Sullivan & Cromwell, and a speechwriter for former education secretary William J. Bennett. He received his A.B. in philosophy and J.D. from Stanford University. They both live in Palo Alto, California.