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 Plato’s 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 ...
Slavery is a by-product of pre-industrial agriculture. All early agricultural societies had it. The Incas and Mayans had it. The Chinese had it. India had it. What is the caste system, but a system ensuring that the people who did the work continued to do the work, with no hope of changing their condition?
Indeed, as well as a justification that - because of sins in past lives - they DESERVE a life of ignorance and toil and the revulsion of their ‘betters’.
“No, Obamacare is not socialism - as a compact between government and industry mandating that you MUST purchase a product of that industry - it is more correctly FASCISM.”
Yup. Marxism, fascism, communism, socialism, statism all are totalitarianism and the exact opposite of freedom. They must enslave the people. And, of course, it always fail. All God’s people just want to be free.
Freedom is the natural state of man - one which he strives for. Thus only a Republic that recognizes the natural rights of man will be free from the incessant strife that comes from keeping human beings in bondage.
bkmk
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