3 ms·

caste has no direct analog in U.S. or European culture. I mean, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Brahmin https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Brahmin a

• scarmig 3y ago
  "Boston Brahmin" doesn't capture any of the subtleties of caste, nor is it long lasting. The salience of that group lasted at most two centuties, and most Americans wouldn't immediately place someone named Ted Brinley in that group on hearing the name. Exogamy was rampant. The same things are not at all true of a Brahmin.
  • kevinventullo 3y ago
    nor is it long lasting. Good point, there’s no such thing as old money, or legacy admissions, or even good old-fashioned racism in America. We left that in the 20th century!
    • wwtrv 3y ago
      That's not a direct analogue to the Hindu caste system because at most generation or two were perfectly sufficient to transition to a higher level 'caste'.
    • scarmig 3y ago
      Race as we know it is a modern invention, approximately four centuries old. It's a toddler compared to caste.
• wwtrv 3y ago
  It's not a caste in the direct sense. I mean rich people who adopted their cultural practices or married into (which would be hardly even possible in a 'true' caste system) were generally socially accepted. Of course being Irish/Catholic/Black etc. would've disqualified you but it's not quite the same thing.