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It's equally probable to say that the driving factor is caste discrimination, which is the underlying cause of economic inequalities. They are two highly correl

It's equally probable to say that the driving factor is caste discrimination, which is the underlying cause of economic inequalities. They are two highly correlated variables, and disaggregation is difficult, but there's no (a priori) reason to assume the drive is economics and the "proxy" is race. The idea of "it takes a few generations" is also widely critiqued with respect to racial progress in the US: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/09/the-mythology-of-racial-progress/614173/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/09/the-myt...

buran77 6y ago
The caste system is worse than just being rich or poor. Poor people rarely accept that they have to be poor and it's the natural order of things. I remember when I saw this for the first time and it left me speechless. I'd work with a team of Indians, all officially with the same job title and qualifications. But while most of the guys (this was a long time ago, it was all guys) would really work hard, there would always be one who knew nothing about the job and didn't even bother to pretend he's working. He would literally just walk around acting like the CEO on inspection, or even like a slave owner, wearing a suit that cost as much as the yearly salary of the other guys. He was of course paid a lot more then the rest of the team even if he couldn't find his way out of a wet paper bag. But what shocked me the most was that the rest of the guys, even when they knew I'm (very publicly) on their side, still talked as if this is the natural order of things. It was not only normal, it was expected. I realized that it's not like a prisoner obeying the guards because they have guns, it's like someone obeying a priest because "he talks to God". Those colleagues accepted that their position is immutable, that those things were happening exactly the way they were supposed to happen. The "natural order of things". Maybe things changed in recent times, I certainly hope nobody accepts their position just because someone wants an easier time discriminating them.

buran77 6y ago

The caste system is worse than just being rich or poor. Poor people rarely accept that they have to be poor and it's the natural order of things. I remember when I saw this for the first time and it left me speechless. I'd work with a team of Indians, all officially with the same job title and qualifications. But while most of the guys (this was a long time ago, it was all guys) would really work hard, there would always be one who knew nothing about the job and didn't even bother to pretend he's working. He would literally just walk around acting like the CEO on inspection, or even like a slave owner, wearing a suit that cost as much as the yearly salary of the other guys. He was of course paid a lot more then the rest of the team even if he couldn't find his way out of a wet paper bag. But what shocked me the most was that the rest of the guys, even when they knew I'm (very publicly) on their side, still talked as if this is the natural order of things. It was not only normal, it was expected. I realized that it's not like a prisoner obeying the guards because they have guns, it's like someone obeying a priest because "he talks to God". Those colleagues accepted that their position is immutable, that those things were happening exactly the way they were supposed to happen. The "natural order of things". Maybe things changed in recent times, I certainly hope nobody accepts their position just because someone wants an easier time discriminating them.