Caste Systems
Today’s post is going to be a weird one. Interesting for sure though. I felt I had to write it though. I was bombarded with the idea constantly over the past few days. It seems caste systems were being brought up on everything. I was listening to a podcast on history that mentioned them several times. I then watched the movie Divergent. It was not terrible. I pretty much watch anything set in a dystopian future. In that movie society was strictly divided into a caste system. I got me thinking about how historically mankind has always implemented them. Still in parts of the world caste systems are still enforced. Are we here in America and other first world countries truly free? Are we not able to be anything we want? What about during any kind of disaster? A full on collapse? During a long term collapse would we fall back into our old patterns? So many questions posed today. This will not be a lecture by me but an open conversation with you. Please comment today and share your thoughts. Today is a mental exercise for us all. So let’s get into it.
Historically
So I started listening to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History. It’s a podcast on interesting parts of history. It might be the best podcast I’ve ever listened to. Which seems odd to say about a history podcast. I have always liked history though. Dean is also a master of his craft. So I started with a podcast during the Lutheran Reformation period. It told the story about a town that was taken over by a lunatic religious cult. Many times the caste system was talked about. The peasants that were treated worse than animals are today. How the aristocracy calculated how much to abuse them without causing a peasants uprising. There was a level at which they would take the crap being dealt out to them. Like people being wholesale burned on the steak for questioning things. Did you know there was a permitted amount of torture? Legally they could rip out your tendons and tear off your flesh for an hour. The peasants thought the 1 hour limit was fair.
The system was still enforced even when it made no sense. If a blue blood was desolate and a cloth merchant made a fortune the merchant was still of a lower class. A farmer born and a farmer till death. No little Timmy you can not be anything you want. Most didn’t question it though. There is a precarious balance of not having things too bad to keep being a cog in the wheel.
Now
Finally though we evolved past that and became enlightened. Right? No longer are we chained into the caste system. I’m not really so sure. I don’t want to go down conspiracy lane here. Not far at least. We obviously do not have a strict caste system any more. There is quite a bit of freedom. We have a good deal of wiggle room. For many where you are born is where you will stay. If you look to the big corporations and government you almost have to be born into them. How many Bush’s are in government? Are the elite bankers and corporations not unlike the aristocracy? They dictate the laws that only apply to others. While I’m all about a free market and making money. Make all the money you can and need. It’s the shady back door political dealing that affect me I have issue with.
With the public school system making people drones only outliers really rise to the top. Of some of them I think there might be help from the elite. Not to get into conspiracy but there are very influential very rich folks. The others that make it big though I contribute to the internet. The internet has changed mankind. It might be the one thing to break the caste system.
The Future
In a collapse what would happen. I think a caste system would emerge in a long term collapse. Either organically or by force. Farmers would begin farming. Merchants would begin selling. Soldiers would fight and unfortunately bureaucrats would show up. If organic it might be beneficial. As an extension of the free market. The need for things to be made, grown, protected etc will cause the formations. The need for clothing will make a clothing merchant wealthy and they will want their children to continue. Farmers will need children to help and pass on to. Mankind will do what is necessary to survive. We always have and always will.
If not Organic it could be an ugly time. It forced upon us by a tyrannical government. Sold to us by the greater need. Sold to a divided world rithe with class warfare. Sold to us when people are starving. Sold to us for our protection. How many would beg for it. How many would demand that we need farmers? We would slip back into the same thinking of those peasants. It’s not that bad at least. We have food at least. We have a purpose in life. We only get tortured an hour.
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good on you for listening to Dan Carlin
I think you could extend your example further back, at least to Roman empire times.
“panem et circenses” (bread and circuses) was a policy of providing food and entertainment to the masses in exchange for compliance with the ruling class.
Some folks have argued we have a similar arrangement in modern times. EBT cards, cable TV, smart phones – all tempting distractions while the ruling class does what they really want to do.
When you believe you have a far better lifestyle than most of the world’s population, how much will you really question things?
Thanks for that example. It makes me wonder how far back they go. Did our nomadic ancestors have them? Cavemen castes?
Good post. It is in human nature to have a caste system. Elected representatives and witch doctors are of separate castes. Personal freedoms change in times of turmoil, most of the time for the worst. The freedoms Americans have seen is an aberration in human history, to be corrected. The voters in America are voting for a stronger caste system, where the hard working middle class are supporting the idle poor.