Why is "diversity" automatically seen as being a "good thing"?

I mean, I can understand why biodiversity is important, but I'm speaking generally here. Would the world really end if everyone were basically the same, or at least similar in all the major attributes (like height, weight, intelligence)?

Update: A few people have mentioned the importance of genetic diversity, and yes, I agree with that, I agree that a case can be made for its importance, but I was thinking more along the lines of diversity in general, as a concept. People seem to just lazily assume it to be a "good thing", and very few seem to question whether, for example (and this is just an example), a diverse workplace is inherently good. Why is that? Why the unquestioning acceptance of an idea that hasn't really even been defined properly?

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UBotMate

The world wouldn't end but it's likely that society would stagnate. Society does best when we have a diverse array of ideas, abilities, ambitions and skill sets. Let's say everyone were super intelligent. How many would be content with low paid employment? If you greatly shift the numbers pursuing higher education then you vastly reduce the pool of workers available for essential low paid jobs. If everyone were of low to average intelligence then who would innovate? Who would push us forwards?

If everyone were the same height and weight then we would all be at a collective disadvantage in terms of survival. There are body types suited to specific environments and conditions. There are health conditions and health risks associated with certain body types which don't affect other body types. Even food consumption could differ greatly if you made everyone uniform in physicality and that could affect food production and, in turn, the economy.

Essentially, balance is important. Taking away physical and intellectual differences would greatly reduce that balance overall. It would address imbalance in some areas but the overall effect would be negative.

Pambie · 22-25, F

@UBotMate Low-paid employment isn't necessarily bad employment, and it's better than unemployment.

UBotMate

@Pambie It's not bad at all, it's vital and it needs people to do it. We couldn't survive without it. I've done both manual labour and high paid corporate work and I've loved both at the time.