Although our cultural diversity is still strong, it is perhaps only a fraction of what it was, say, 10,000 years ago, when agriculturists moved out of Mesopotamia and replaced hunter-gatherer cultures in Europe and elsewhere, extinguishing languages in the process. There are only about 50 languages spoken in Europe today.  If it hadn't been for the advance of the agriculturists, we would probably have greater linguistic diversity in Europe, and probably greater cultural diversity too.

Today, from Manila to Miami, people seem to eat the same foods, watch the same films, and drive the same cars. Languages are being lost at a rate of one per day.  Yet you can walk down a street in Manhattan and find three generations of Italian speakers. Walk a few blocks more, and people are speaking Chinese. The cultural differences in Manhattan seem to be stable.  To what extent are these differences a resource for the progress of humanist.  According to Samuel Betances education universalizes the human spirit. You cannot be universalized if you are only in one world, the world of your ethnic group, the world of your neighborhood, the world of your religion, or the world of your family. The word ‘university’ is related to this idea. Our lives are enhanced when we understand and appreciate many worlds. It has been said that if you gain a new language, you gain a new world. I believe that the reverse is also true: if you lose a language, you lose a world. When our spirit is universalized, we can cross boundaries and feel comfortable in other worlds. We can teach and learn from others in a mutually supportive effort to acquire a profound respect for the human condition.

It is argued that our cultural evolution is driven in large part by a desire to control resources. Essentially we drawing a ring around oiurselves to define a personal territory and exclude others from occupying it. That leads to different cultures arising through the usual processes of diversification and drifting apart when they're isolated from each other.  Unless tempted financially to move and assimilate into a new culture, most people prefer to stay where they are and continue doing what they have always done. It's the natural tendency for cultures to be quite cohesive and exclusive that we want to draw attention to. This is reinforced by social behavioirs that favor living in small groups, such as rewarding cooperation, punishing those who deviate from the norms, and being wary of outsiders. In trying to control resources and excluding others from using them, humans have developed sophisticated group behaviors such as hunting … and warfare.  These behaviours  require enormous amounts of cooperation, coherence, and communication among individuals.

Human cultures distribute themselves around the world in patterns similar to animal species. In animals, a trend known as Rapaport's rule holds that the density of species is highest in the equatorial regions and declines steadily toward the poles.  Different languages—the standard by which the study differentiates cultures—are spoken every few square miles in some equatorial areas, while less climatologically hospitable regions have few languages.

When resources are abundant, it is possible for a small group of humans to survive, while in areas where resources are not very abundant people have to range over large areas to meet their daily needs, and that seems to homogenize cultures, because they're constantly coming into contact with other people. 

The other aspect of human diversity is expressed as individual differences, irrespective of race, such as:

This raises the question of equality as a social resource.  Equality is about respect and not treating an individual or group of people unfairly. It is about giving people an equality of opportunity to access services and to fulfil their potential. Equality is therefore based on the idea of fairness while recognising everyone is different.

Diversity is about all the ways in which people differ and about recognising that differences are a natural part of society. No two people are the same and this means that many different elements make up our local community – something which should be celebrated. Diversity is about treating people as individuals and making them feel respected and valued.

This has been acknowledged in the UK through various legislative instruments over the years to incorporate diversity into social development as a form of human capital, namely:

Many myths exist about equality and diversity - it's not about political correctness or about giving people unfair advantages, but about respect for individuals and groups. Equality comes about as a result of positive attitudes to diversity and the needs of individuals, rather than from treating everyone the same.  Equality and diversity make good business sense and go hand-in-hand with enhancing the dignity and self-esteem of all employees.

The advantages of human diversity in the global economy is evident in companies that are increasingly looking for leaders who can manage and communicate across cultures, who can shift from one world view to another. And as this skill set becomes more highly valued, greater numbers of minority executives -- many of whom have this skill -- are being promoted to the highest corporate levels.

The concept of “social capitalism” brings social and economic strands of diversity together. Social capitalism stresses that the process of building richer societies relies on social and economic progress. The concept emerges from an understanding that the logic of the emerging global economy places more value on people, rather than less. Human capital is of growing importance to businesses, whether large or small. Business tends to thrive in dynamic, enterprising and adventurous societies – societies which invest in their members and give them the freedom and confidence to fulfill their potential. Our most important economic actors, in other words, rely on ongoing human development to survive.