Definition
A caste system is a way of organizing society in which people are born into a fixed social rank that largely determines their occupation, status, and whom they may marry. Unlike a class system, a caste is inherited and, in principle, cannot be changed during a person's lifetime.
The best-known example developed in ancient India. Society there came to be divided into broad ranked groups — traditionally priests, warriors and rulers, merchants and farmers, and laborers — with additional groups placed outside or below this order entirely.
Why it matters
How it works
In a caste system, social position passes from parent to child. People generally work in the occupation associated with their caste, marry within it, and interact with other castes according to strict rules. This kept the social order stable across generations but offered individuals little chance to move up.
In ancient India, the caste order was bound up with religious teaching, which framed each person's caste as connected to their conduct in past lives and their duties in this one. Over centuries it grew into a complex web of thousands of local groups, a system whose legacy India continues to confront today.