caste systems
Hereditary social ranks
Caste systems are social hierarchies that divide people into hereditary groups with fixed status, traditionally determining occupation, marriage possibilities, and social interaction.
The Hindu caste system is the most prominent example, but rigid class stratification appears across cultures.
The term often describes any entrenched social ranking: Silicon Valley has its own caste system, with engineers at the top.
- apartheidRacial separation policy
- varnaHindu hereditary social order
- endogamyMarriage within one's group
- blood purityUnmixed ancestral heritage
- inequalityUnequal distribution of resources
rank · untouchability · hierarchy · colonialism · class · social climbing · division · dharma · segregation · labor · social stratification · affirmative action · purity · privilege · exclusion · serfdom · status · inheritance
- groupsteam, teams, group, club, clubs
- comparative historycolonialism, imperialism, revolutions, modernization, industrialization
- social historyeveryday life, social class, social movements, working class, middle class
- oppressionoppression, tyranny, racism, repression, secret police
- social hierarchyclass, ranks, noble class, social classes, pecking order
- social illsracism, sexism, bigotry, prejudice, discrimination
caste systemsmeritocracy
Advancement through demonstrated ability
social mobility · open society · equal opportunity · classless society · American Dream
caste systemsegalitarianism
Philosophy of universal equality
social equality · egalitarian society · classlessness · anti-hierarchy · communism
caste systemsassimilation
Absorbing into a whole
cosmopolitanism · integration · intermarriage · melting pot · pluralism