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Written by Timothy Sexton
America’s Hidden Caste System
When one thinks of a caste system of society, one probably first thinks of a society like India in which there is a rigid social hierarchy that is clearly and starkly defined. On the other hand, the very absence of a caste system is hardwired into the idea of America. The author explodes this myth by revealing the ways in which what is explicit in a hardcore caste system like India also exists in America, but it is hidden beneath a veneer of respectability. For instance, one of the questions which is asked most often within five minutes of meeting a stranger—“what do you do for a living?” or something along those lines—is an implicit query made for the purpose of determining that person’s standing within a starkly drawn social spectrum.
Caste Leads to Evil
Ostensibly, a caste system is simply about division of classes. Those at the top of the caste will come to expect more privilege while those at the bottom can expect to work harder for smaller returns. The author demonstrates that caste is about much more than simply dividing classes of people; it will always, ultimately, and inevitably lead to acts of unspeakable evil. While the institution of a caste system may originate from a point of dividing humans into various classes, it always winds up becoming a system that operates on the principle of dividing humans from those who have been dehumanized. To accept that every member of an entire class of people is inferior based on nothing that they have actually done but rather on the principle that birth has made them instantly inferior lays the groundwork for dehumanization. The process of having dehumanized a group facilitates making it easier to perpetrate acts of evil upon them in much the same that nobody is ever tried for murdering a dog.
Social Control
Although the controlling idea of creating a caste system is (regardless of any inherent absurdity) to produce a more equitable social structure based on merit, the consequence is always one in which awarding status based on merit gives way to controlling the possibility of merit. Ideally, a caste system would be one which allows any individual member of a lower caste to rise up to higher levels by demonstrating they are worthy of such merit. This would be the ideal situation if only because it would instill a stimulation toward self-improvement among the lower classes operating under the assumption that self-improvement is social improvement. Instead, caste systems tend to become even more rigid as time passes with opportunities for upward mobility made even more difficult as members of the controlling caste actively seek to protect what they have come to view as their inherent supremacy within the social structure which, according to their perspective, is naturally occurring and did not need to be “earned.”
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Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents Questions and Answers
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Study Guide for Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents study guide contains a biography of Isabel Wilkerson, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
Social Control
Although the controlling idea of creating a caste system is (regardless of any inherent absurdity) to produce a more equitable social structure based on merit, the consequence is always one in which awarding status based on merit gives way to controlling the possibility of merit. Ideally, a caste system would be one which allows any individual member of a lower caste to rise up to higher levels by demonstrating they are worthy of such merit. This would be the ideal situation if only because it would instill a stimulation toward self-improvement among the lower classes operating under the assumption that self-improvement is social improvement. Instead, caste systems tend to become even more rigid as time passes with opportunities for upward mobility made even more difficult as members of the controlling caste actively seek to protect what they have come to view as their inherent supremacy within the social structure which, according to their perspective, is naturally occurring and did not need to be “earned.”