Diversity, standardization and the perspective of social transformation

This volume has brought together a range of theoretical and policy-oriented contributions that all illuminate links between patterns of standardization and diversity, many of which are hidden from our day-to-day consciousness. One of the foremost results of this book project is that it does not make sense to talk of ‘diversity’ or of ‘standardization’ in isolation. On the contrary, the existence of and the respect for generally agreed economic, political and social standards is an absolute precondition for diversity – and for orderly human interaction in general. Without agreement on such standards there would be chaos and disintegration both at the system and social level (Chapter 6 by Aschauer). Since both standardization and diversity are interdependent and interwoven by a myriad of ties, the understanding of the specific historical and social forms of this interrelation is a necessary starting point for further theoretical and empirical study. The contributions to this volume suggest that any given extent and quality of diversity is interpretable as the outcome of a historically achieved and socially agreed level of standardization in different societal areas, occurring at the micro, macro and meso levels. As a corollary, a general and fixed definition of the relationship between levels of standardization and patterns of diversity is impossible, since it is contingent on social struggles between various groups and of various sorts. Any agreement on standards is temporary despite the fact that we often perceive them as ‘natural’. We will now turn to embed this conclusion into wider social theory debates.