In recent debates that can be summarized under the keyword “diversity,” both wanted and unwanted monuments have been emotionally contested. According to their detractors, the contested monuments reproduce historical inequality and structural discrimination that are still having an impact. These debates often focus on removing or converting individual objects. This article addresses the criticism of the debates on social diversity in historiography and how this might affect the field of monument preservation. Fundamental to this is an attitude that does not exclude removing or altering monuments in individual cases. The article also discusses the principles historically anchored in monument preservation that oppose an opening for social diversity. It also refers to the great potential for the field that such an opening could provide.