Guest Post: Human Flourishing vs. Abstract Social Justice Narratives of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

A New Path for Educational Reform

by Maria Skoutaridou

One aim of my new Centre for Heterodox Social Science at the University of Buckingham is to promote new heterodox research talent. This guest post features an essay by Maria Skoutaridou, a PhD student in Philosophy at the University of Kent, UK.

DEI’s Impact on Education: A Shift from Inquiry to Ideology

Today’s educational landscape is increasingly dominated by abstract social justice themes, particularly those centred on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). These frameworks have steered education away from its fundamental purpose. Rather than fostering genuine personal growth and community membership, DEI-based curricula promote ideological conformity through abstract concepts of justice and identity. The irony is striking: initiatives meant to promote diversity enforce uniformity, equity programs perpetuate new inequalities, and inclusion efforts can lead to exclusion of divergent viewpoints.

The consequences of this ideological shift are already visible in our society. As education prioritises group rights over personal responsibility and ideological compliance over open inquiry, we’re witnessing the emergence of graduates less prepared for authentic civic engagement. With DEI frameworks gaining an ever-stronger monopoly over educational policy and practice, their prescriptive approach threatens to reshape future generations’ understanding of citizenship and community in our liberal societies.

In response to this concerning trajectory, I propose an alternative vision: grounding education in human flourishing. This approach moves beyond abstract social justice narratives to cultivate something more fundamental—civic virtues that arise from real community engagement, a genuine sense of belonging rooted in place and relationship, and purpose that emerges from meaningful contribution rather than ideological alignment.

Why Human Flourishing Matters: A Virtue-Based Alternative to DEI

The notion of human flourishing, or eudaimonia rooted in Aristotelian philosophy, offers a powerful alternative to current educational trends. It envisions a life of meaningful fulfilment achieved through the cultivation of virtues. Aristotle taught that flourishing arises not merely from individual success or material gain, but it is something deeper—the realisation of human potential through virtues like prudence, courage, and temperance.

What makes this approach particularly relevant for education reform is its dual emphasis on individual growth and community engagement. True human flourishing emerges when personal development intersects with civic life, where virtues find their fullest expression through meaningful participation in the community. This stands in stark contrast to DEI frameworks, which often impose top-down ideological standards and prescribed orthodoxies. Where DEI approaches tend to reduce education to compliance with abstract notions of “social justice,” human flourishing offers a more dynamic and personally meaningful path. It invites students to develop not just skills and knowledge, but a deeper sense of purpose that connects their individual growth to the well-being of their communities.

The human-flourishing based approach transforms education from a process of conforming to external standards into one of discovering and developing one’s authentic potential while cultivating the virtues essential for meaningful civic participation.

From Rights-Centred Ideals to a Responsibility-Driven Education

The modern DEI framework, emerging from progressive liberalism, has reshaped educational curricula around a singular focus: promoting group rights based on characteristics like race or gender identity. While traditional liberalism championed individual rights, DEI shifts this emphasis to group-based entitlements, particularly for designated marginalised communities. Yet it maintains liberalism’s fundamental position of the priority of the right over any other claim or concept, often undermining personal responsibility.

An education centred on human flourishing addresses the need for membership and responsibility before discussing rights. While rights remain essential to democratic societies, emphasising them in isolation can reduce education to a narrow focus on individual entitlements and abstract notions of justice.

By prioritising membership and responsibility, students learn to see themselves as active participants in their communities, bound by mutual obligations and shared aspirations. In this way, notions of rights are situated within a proper context—not as standalone entitlements, but as one element in the broader tapestry of human flourishing, where personal growth and community bonds reinforce each other.

Therefore, in this framework, rights emerge organically from relationships and responsibilities, rather than existing as abstract claims in service of ideological justice. The result is a more authentic form of citizenship that naturally promotes:

· Cooperation over division

· Genuine connection over artificial separation

· Equal opportunity rooted in merit

· True intellectual diversity that welcomes different viewpoints

From Performative Individualism to Relational Character

Today’s DEI-based curricula, despite its communal rhetoric, paradoxically fosters an atomocentric character in students. Young people are trained to perform according to externally imposed moral standards—essentially engaging in virtue-signalling for public validation. The curriculum presents certain ideological positions as unquestionable orthodoxies, explicitly dictating right and wrong through the lens of social justice. The ironic result? Rather than creating genuine connection, this approach produces self-absorbed individuals fixated on abstract notions of diversity, equality, and inclusion. While claiming to fight for justice, many become rigidly intolerant of viewpoints that challenge their prescribed orthodoxies.

A human flourishing approach charts a different course by cultivating genuinely relational character. Instead of isolated moral performers, it develops students who understand their place within a larger whole. This perspective helps young people grasp their role in an interconnected web of relationships—with peers, community members, and their broader environment. Through this lens, belonging naturally evokes a sense of duty toward others.

Beyond Abstract Identities: Building Belonging through Community

Current DEI frameworks compartmentalise students into identity groups based on characteristics like race or gender identities. This approach inadvertently promotes an “anywhere” mindset—a worldview that disconnects people from physical place and local community. The implicit message is that geographic location and community ties are secondary to demographic categories when seeking connection and meaning. This abstract categorisation, while claiming to create belonging, often leaves young people adrift—searching for purpose in disembodied identity groups rather than concrete communities.

A human flourishing approach reverses this disconnection by embracing the vital importance of being “somewhere.” It recognises that meaningful identity emerges not from abstract categories, but from the rich tapestry of local relationships, shared experiences, and community bonds. Students learn to derive purpose and fulfilment through:

· Active participation in their immediate community

· Understanding local history and traditions

· Building meaningful relationships with neighbours

· Contributing to local initiatives and problem-solving

· Developing a sense of stewardship for their environment

This community-based perspective offers more than just an alternative to the rootless “anywhere” culture—it provides a foundation for authentic purpose and belonging. When students are grounded in real communities rather than abstract categories, they naturally develop the relational character needed for genuine flourishing.

Human Flourishing: Rediscovering Education's True Purpose

The path to a truly cohesive society runs not through ideological mandates but through personal flourishing. When students develop as whole persons—grounded in virtues, conscious of their membership in community, and guided by a sense of responsibility—they naturally become adults capable of genuine cooperation and mutual respect. These individuals can navigate modern complexity while maintaining deep commitments to their communities and environment. Most importantly, they develop the capacity for authentic engagement across differences, transcending the ideological divisions that DEI narratives reinforce.

Human flourishing thus offers a compelling vision for education reform. It promises something more substantial than abstract social justice goals—it cultivates:

· Genuine inclusivity rooted in relationality rather than category

· Civic responsibility emerging from real community bonds

· Personal growth that enhances rather than conflicts with community well-being

· Authentic respect for diverse viewpoints based on shared humanity

By reorienting education around human flourishing, we provide young people with more than just an educational philosophy—we offer them a pathway to meaningful lives. This approach nurtures both individual potential and the capacity to contribute to a virtuous society, creating a natural bridge between personal development and community well-being.

The result is an education that serves its highest purpose: not just preparing students for success but enabling them to build lives of genuine meaning and authentic connection. This is how we move beyond the limitations of current frameworks to foster a truly flourishing society—one person, one community at a time.

Bibliography-Further Reading

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Caldwell, C. (2020). The Age of Entitlement: America since the sixties. Simon & Schuster. Dagger, R. (1997). Civic Virtues: Rights, citizenship, and republican liberalism. Oxford University Press.

Deneen, P. J. (2018). Why Liberalism Failed. Yale University Press. Driver, J. (2001). Uneasy virtue. Cambridge University Press.

Foot, P. (2002). Virtues and Vices and Other Essays in Moral Philosophy. Clarendon Press. Freire, P. (2005). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Bloomsbury.

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Goodhart, D. (2017). The Road to Somewhere: The populist revolt and the future of politics. Hurst & Company.

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Murphy, J. B. (2007). From Aristotle to Hobbes: William Galston on civic virtue. Social Theory and Practice, 33(4), 637-644.

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