Putnam on Diversity

This is the most disturbing piece of research I have read about recently.

Study paints bleak picture of ethnic diversity

A bleak picture of the corrosive effects of ethnic diversity has been revealed in research by Harvard University�s Robert Putnam, one of the world�s most influential political scientists.

His research shows that the more diverse a community is, the less likely its inhabitants are to trust anyone � from their next-door neighbour to the mayor....

The core message of the research was that, �in the presence of diversity, we hunker down�, he said. �We act like turtles. The effect of diversity is worse than had been imagined. And it�s not just that we don�t trust people who are not like us. In diverse communities, we don�t trust people who do look like us.�

Update: Putnam disputes this article's interpretation of his work.