Posted on 05/08/2013 2:45:41 PM PDT by Jandy on Genesis
The evils of the caste system are regularly expounded in contemporary writings. In The Open Society and Its Enemies, Karl Popper argued that Platos ideal state, with it three-tier structure, is totalitarian. Yet, as others have noted, Plato's ideal represents an improvement upon the rigid caste structure that characterized ancient societies. Plato suggested that some particularly gifted individuals should be trained to work outside of their caste. This was a radical idea for his time (B.C. 428-347).
The egalitarian nature of American society makes castes anathema. We react strongly to perceived or real limitations of our freedom of choice. On this matter we find agreement among such disparate groups as feminists, the National Rifle Association, gay activists, and libertarians.
Rarely do we consider the benefits of the caste system. It lent stability to ancient societies. People knew their place in society and were proud of the work done by their caste. Caste identity provided a strong sense of duty. The Bhagavad Gita states, "By devotion to one's particular duty, everyone can attain perfection... By fulfilling the obligations he is born with, a person never comes to grief." (BG 18:44-48) This idea is found in Judaism also. Baba Batra wrote, "All appointments are from Heaven, even that of a janitor." (Talmud, Baba Batra 91b)
Members formed stable marriages with partners within their caste and received support from their kinsmen. The caste also lent job security similar to that provided by Medieval guilds and modern trade unions.
(Excerpt) Read more at jandyongenesis.blogspot.com ...
“Casteism at its worst did not even kill a tiny miniscule fraction of the people killed by Inquisition, crusade, pogrom,holocaust,slavery,racism, apartheid ,colonialism, communism, nazism, fascism.....all of them gift of White people.” - ravager
“You forgot communism, which in the last 100 years have murdered more people than the entire rest of your list combined.” - PapaBear3625
Ravager is talking about White people and PapaBear3625 brings up communists. Let me ask, weren’t/aren’t most communists light-skinned?
Say what? You are the one playing the moral equivalence game.
Funny, Mao and Pol Pot and the Norks are all Asian.
Most communists are East Asian, and most people killed by communism are Asian. Think China/Vietnam/Cambodia/North Korea.
But a lot of what goes under the name of caste had to do with ancient conquests. With the Indo-European conquest of Dravidian India, for example.
You could see the same thing in France (Germans over Celts/Latins) or in England (Normans over Anglo-Saxons), but the West got over more rigid caste distinctions (eventually).
In the US...yes. They started it, they ended it.
Worldwide? That's stretching a little.
Either way most Communists are East Asian, and the worst communist atrocities are almost exclusively East Asian.
But really; assigning ‘blame’ based upon what population someone comes from is ridiculous and idiotic.
Should an anti-Communist from East Asian descent be automatically discredited because of East Asian Communism?
Should an abolitionist from American-European descent be automatically discredited because of American slavery?
Should an anti-Jihadist from Middle Eastern descent be automatically discredited because of Middle Eastern jihad?
Collective and/or racial guilt is such an EASTERN concept! Individualism rejects such backwards notions. ;)
Ravager started talking about "white people" as a contrast to the Indian caste system. Yet Indians ARE Caucasians, with the upper caste being as light-skinned as most Mediterranean Europeans.
White people started slavery?
The Egyptians and the Sumerians must have escaped your notice.
I didnt forget communism. Its right in there. Where did Communism come from? China? Marx and Stalin were Indians?
The context was US.
Never said invented. They did it nevertheless.
27 posted on 5/9/2013 1:21:10 AM by ravager
And now:
I didnt forget communism. Its right in there. Where did Communism come from? China? Marx and Stalin were Indians?
You are an intellectually dishonest slimeball. You can't even keep your talking points straight.
Indians are not Whites regardless of lighter skin. Brits didnt consider Indians as Europeans and thus equal to them.
Remind me, what skin color were the Romans again?
“How about slavery of African peoples by people in the Middle East (which still exists today), or by other Africans? How about slavery in the Orient? The Mongols took millions of slaves, and butched them by the thousands when reentering Mongolia. The Chinese had slavery over thousands of years. “
All of those simply pales in size and geographic expanse of slave trade by white people. All of the African population in the Americas, West Indies, South Americas was the result of slave trade. All of West Africa, Congo, Chad, Senegal, Niger were reduced to human slave harvesting colonies. Large swathes of American continent and African continent ran on slave trade economy. Read up on the “Rubber regime” and “Crimes of Congo” under King Leopold of Belgium who would amputate the limbs of children for not meeting the quote of rubber extraction. The stories of slavery in Africa under Europeans were far more horrific than even US.
You’ve been out-casted.
You said slavery was the “gift of White people” post 25.
PapaBear3625 said “White people created the movement to abolish slavery worldwide. This upsets people like the Muslims, who regard slavery as an institution sanctioned by Allah.” post 60
You then said “In the US...yes. They started it, they ended it. Worldwide? That's stretching a little.” post 66
Abolition of slavery was not limited to these United States - and it's goal was and remains the worldwide abolition of slavery.
And no - slavery was not a “gift” of white people, and it is not a case that “they started it”.
Even in the Americas, where slavery was certainly not just limited to the slaves States of these United States - the slave stock was almost always purchased not acquired from free men. So they didn't “start” the slavery - they purchased people who were already in a condition of slavery. Not that that justified the unnatural injustice of holding people in slavery - but it certainly is not a case where the U.S.A. “started” slavery.
“...upper caste being as light-skinned as most Mediterranean Europeans.”
There are four main categories in the varna (not “caste”) system and those are based on the “color of mind” or propensity. But the term “caste” is used, albeit incorrectly, as well as the “upper” and “lower” classification. Now, there are dark-skinned people who are in the “upper” category in various parts of India — probably more dark than light.
And what color were the slaves of the Romans again?
I know it is difficult for you to get it into your head that everything isn’t about race - but it isn’t.
And your support for the idea that slavery as practiced by “White men” upon Africans was some uniquely horrific crime unparalleled in history for it’s scope and brutality is rather thin. Not that “they did it too” is a justification - I am in no way defending slavery - just opposing your idiotic assertion that it was a “gift of white men” or that “nothing (else) even comes close”.
The British Navy in the 1800's was quite energetic in suppressing the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The US Navy went up against the Barbary Pirates to a large degree because of the pirates enslaving American sailors.
Who do you think was active in suppressing the Muslim slave traders?
Stalin and Hitler enslaved entire populations of white people in their mass murdering Marxist/fascist attempts to enslave the entire world.
And we now have a gang of godless Marxist/fascist wannabe dictators controlling OUR government with the exact same goals in mind.
History repeats itself.
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