Having lived in India in the slums with low caste Christians for the first half of this year - I concur that your assessment is exactly correct.
We are become caste-based in our politics and identities.
Caste is nothing but a system of Satan. It is insidious and beyond your comprehension. Nobles and serfs is the closest understanding we would have as to how caste operates and works.
There IS NO ADVANCEMENT OR OPPORTUNITY TO GO UP THE LADDER in a caste-based system. Your tribe, your name, your skin color, your caste - is your designation for life. And the entirety of society works to ensure that castes stay within the bounds the upper ruling castes prescribe for the rest of society.
I have seen and witnessed misery you cannot wrap your mind around as an American. I have seen an existence of life that we would not consider to be human.
And that is where we in America are going and have partially adopted.
"Caste is nothing but a system of Satan. It is insidious and beyond your comprehension. Nobles and serfs is the closest understanding we would have as to how caste operates and works. There IS NO ADVANCEMENT OR OPPORTUNITY TO GO UP THE LADDER in a caste-based system. Your tribe, your name, your skin color, your caste - is your designation for life. And the entirety of society works to ensure that castes stay within the bounds the upper ruling castes prescribe for the rest of society."
The problem is that it is not that simplistic. It used to be... not in the last 15 years. There are lowest-caste parties in power where the lowest caste politicians rule and have amassed billions for them. The closest thing I can think of here in the US is the Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton type pimps who use the past misery to exploit their own people.
Here is a shot of a lowest caste politician who was wearing a cash garland:
Her party is all about low caste identity, similar to other caste parties. Her voters are lowest caste(dalits). They will vote for her regardless... she uses power and money to shrug off her caste complex.