The distinction between the terms, however, is worthy of a discussion in itself for it leads to some new ways of looking at the issue. Organizational diversity as a goal of affirmative action suggests representation of racial, ethnic, or other selected groups proportional to such groups' numbers in the population as a whole. It is based on group representation with no particular regard for the beliefs and associations of the individuals who make up the groups. One is defined by one's group. Pluralism is more about individuals and the number of different beliefs and associations each individual holds.
Pluralism has a long and honorable history in American political thought.
Many historians and political theorists attribute the success of the nation in part to pluralism's effect on conflict resolution. Tocqueville remarked about Americans' propensity to form associations for an unusual number of social and economic purposes. Because the terms have different meanings, diversity and pluralism should not be used as synonyms in questions of affirmative action in higher education. Rather, their differences should be explored as each would be used to bring about solutions to the problems of underrepresentation of minorities in both student admissions and faculty hiring. Diversity as a goal in itself is troublesome because it conjures quotas and finds little favor with courts that apply the rule of strictest scrutiny to racial and ethnic classifications.