ABSTRACT
Th is chapter focuses on the discourse about social diversity, a discourse in which pluralism and heterogeneity primarily are regarded-or at least that is the rhetoric-as assets that will lead to not only a more creative society, but also to economic growth. We argue that it makes a diff erence whether the inclusion of hitherto excluded categories is motivated by human rights, charity, or by economic reasons. Heterogeneity and pluralism are made meaningful through diff erent discourses such as identity politics, politics of recognition, equality politics, and politics of diff erence (Taylor, 1994; Young, 1990). By analysing three Swedish offi cial documents, we want to show that this discourse is not as innocent as it fi rst might appear. First, it is based on a presupposition that individuals and social groups can be expected to possess specifi c qualities based on, for example, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. A common expression in the discourse about diversity is that individuals should be granted the right to “be who they are,” a statement
based on a presumption of stable and essential identities. Furthermore, the discourse repeats an idea of consensus and unity. It hereby discloses inequality and executes power in the way it designates both content and hierarchy of diff erent subject positions. Second, it is a discourse that is articulated in and together with an economic discourse. Th e value of economic growth is taken for granted and employed as a foundation for the whole discourse. It thereby strengthens the hegemony of capitalism and its numerous relations of subordination. In the article, we stress the importance of deconstructing the processes in which diff erences are produced in various contexts, how diff erent subjects are made into stable positions-instead of positions under continuous construction, and positions that are experienced through diff erent interpretative frameworks (Laclau & Mouff e, 1985).
