caste system
Hereditary social ranks
A caste system is a rigid social hierarchy where people are born into fixed classes that determine their occupation, social standing, and whom they may marry.
The term most often refers to the Hindu system in India, with Brahmins at the top and "untouchables" at the bottom, though similar structures exist elsewhere.
More loosely, any society with entrenched class barriers may be described as having a caste system: Hollywood has its own caste system.
- inequalityUnequal distribution of resources
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
- classGrouping by shared traits
- discriminationUnjust differential treatment
- purity lawsCodes governing undefiled states
Dalit · varna · occupation · ancestry · tradition · social hierarchy · dharma · privilege · identity · segregation · apartheid · social stratification · lineage · reservation · exclusion · birth right · rank · ritual
- Ancient IndiaIndus Valley, Vedas, Sanskrit, Upanishads, Mahabharata
- AsiaChina, India, Japan, Thailand, Korea
- groupsteam, teams, group, club, clubs
- Dystopia1984, Nineteen Eighty-Four, dystopian fiction, totalitarianism, Brave New World
- IndiaDelhi, Ganges, Mumbai, Taj Mahal, Punjab
- Indian cultureHinduism, Diwali, sari, Holi, saree
caste systemmeritocracy
Advancement through demonstrated ability
merit-based system · classless society · social mobility · open society · American Dream
caste systemegalitarianism
Philosophy of universal equality
egalitarian society · classless society · social equality · equality before the law · equality
caste systemindividualism
Doctrine of personal independence
self-determination · free association · personal autonomy · cosmopolitanism · universalism
system, systems, systematic, systemic, caste, systematize, casteism, systematized, castes