"Great minds think alike? It's completely wrong. It's not that great minds think alike; it's that different minds are great." — David Oppenheimer
It's diversity week. Yesterday, Brian Soucek argued in favor of what he calls the "opinionated university" to protect free speech. Today David Oppenheimer, law professor at UC Berkeley, on The Diversity Principle: The Story of a Transformative Idea. Oppenheimer reminds us that diversity isn't a modern invention. It traces back to Wilhelm von Humboldt's University of Berlin in 1810, which admitted Catholics and Jews to what would otherwise have been an entirely Protestant institution. And to John Stuart Mill, whose On Liberty—written with his wife Harriet Taylor Mill—might be renamed On Liberty and Diversity.

Oppenheimer's case for diversity is partly moral, partly utilitarian. Diverse boards result in more profitable corporations, he says. Diverse science labs make more significant discoveries. Diverse classrooms generate better ideas. The phrase "great minds think alike" is, he says, the product of a poor mind. Different minds are great. That's where the greatness comes from.
Oppenheimer takes seriously Clarence Thomas's critique of diversity. Thomas argues that racial diversity assumes Black people all think alike, which is its own form of liberal racism. But Oppenheimer responds by citing Thomas's "brilliant" dissent in Virginia v. Black, where he argued that cross burning isn't political speech but terrorism. That insight, Oppenheimer says, came from Thomas's lived experience as a Black man. The other justices, all white, couldn't see it.

The unsung hero in Oppenheimer's history of diversity is Pauli Murray. Born 1910 into the segregated South, Murray coined the term "Jane Crow," influenced Thurgood Marshall's arguments in Brown v. Board, saved the sex discrimination clause in the Civil Rights Act, hired Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the ACLU against the judgment of the men who thought her "meek," and ended her life as an Episcopal priest. Now recognized by the church as a saint, Oppenheimer cites Murray as not just a great theorist of diversity, but also as a paragon of a diverse life. Maybe every week should be diversity week.

Five Takeaways
• Different Minds Are Great: The phrase "great minds think alike" is, Oppenheimer says, the product of a poor mind. Different minds are great. That's where their greatness comes from.
• Diversity Traces Back to 1810: Diversity isn't a modern invention. It traces back to Humboldt's University of Berlin in 1810. Mill's On Liberty might be renamed On Liberty and Diversity.
• Clarence Thomas's Critique Is Serious: Thomas argues that racial diversity assumes Black people all think alike. But Oppenheimer responds by citing Thomas's own "brilliant" dissent in Virginia v. Black.
• Pauli Murray Is the Model of a Great Mind: Murray coined "Jane Crow," influenced Brown v. Board, saved sex discrimination in the Civil Rights Act, and hired RBG. Oppenheimer cites her as a paragon of a diverse life.
• Mill Warned Against Majoritarianism: On Liberty is instructive today. When everyone agrees, listen harder to those who disagree. The majority is not only often ill-informed but often wrong.

About the Guest
David Oppenheimer is a Clinical Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law and author of The Diversity Principle: The Story of a Transformative Idea.

References
The Diversity Principle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0197755089
David Oppenheimer at Berkeley Law: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/david-oppenheimer/
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Liberty
About Keen On America
Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States.
Website: https://keenon.tv/ Substack: https://keenon.substack.com/ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@KeenOnShow

Chapters:
00:00:00 Introduction: A legal week on diversity
00:01:32 Diversity traces back to Humboldt's Berlin, 1810
00:02:08 What is diversity?
00:03:19 Mill and On Liberty: The philosophy of diversity
00:05:08 Great minds don't think alike—different minds are great
00:06:13 Mill against the tyranny of the majority
00:07:23 Is diversity utilitarian?
00:09:14 Charles William Eliot brings diversity to Harvard
00:11:04 Harvard vs. Princeton: Who welcomed outsiders?
00:12:47 What's the strongest argument against diversity?
00:13:25 Clarence Thomas's critique
00:15:33 The Obama children objection
00:18:21 Diversity is not just about affirmative action
00:23:55 Pauli Murray: The unknown giant
00:26:27 Ruth Bader Ginsburg and age diversity
00:28:51 Does diversity extend to machines and other species?