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CASTE
Caste is closely connected with the Hindu philosophy and
religion, custom and tradition .It is believed to have had a
divine origin and sanction. It is deeply rooted social
institution in India. There are more than 2800 castes and
sub-castes with all their peculiarities. The term caste is
derived from the Spanish word caste meaning breed or
lineage. The word caste also signifies race or kind. The
Sanskrit word for caste is varna which means colour.The
caste stratification of the Indian society had its origin in
the chaturvarna system. According to this doctrine the
Hindu society was divided into four main varnas Brahmins, Kashtriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.The Varna
system prevalent during the Vedic period was mainly
based on division of labour and occupation. The caste
system owns its origin to the Varna system. Ghurye says
any attempt to define caste is bound to fail because of
the complexity of the phenomenon. According to Risely
caste is a collection of families bearing a common name
stratification
-they
are
economic,
political
and
occupational classes. Lloyd Warner shows how class
distinctions contribute to social stability.Veblen analyzed
the consumption pattern of the rich class by the concept
of conspicuous consumption. Warner has classified
classes into six types- upper-upper class, upper-middle
class, upper-lower class, lower-upper class, the lower
middle class and lower class. Anthony Giddens's three
class model is the upper, middle and lower (working)
class.
Jajmani system
William H Wiser introduced the term Jajmani system in
the vocabulary of Indian sociology through his book The
Hindu Jajmani system where he described in detail how
different caste group interact with each other in the
production and exchange of goods and services. In
different parts of India different terms are used to
describe this economic interaction among the castes for
example in Maharashtra the term Balutedar is used.
However in sociological literature jajmani system has
come to be accepted as a general term to describe the
economic interaction between the castes at the village
level. This system is also a ritual system concerned with
the aspects of purity and pollution as with economic
aspects. It functions so that the highest caste remains
pure while the lowest castes absorb pollution from them.
Villages are composed of number of jatis each having its
occupational speciality.Jajmani system is essentially an
agriculture based system of production and distribution of
goods and services. Through jajmani relations these
occupational jatis get linked with the land owning
dominant caste. The jajmani system operates around the
families belonging to the land owning dominant caste the
Karl Marx
(1818- 1883) thought
was
strongly
Materialistic Interpretation
Historical Materialism
Class and Class conflict
Alienation
of
History
i.e
"surplus value" and argued that this surplus value had its
source in surplus labour.
The capitalist mode of production is capable of
tremendous growth because the capitalist can, and has
an incentive to, reinvest profits in new technologies. Marx
considered the capitalist class to be the most
revolutionary
in
history,
because
it
constantly
revolutionized the means of production. But Marx argued
that capitalism was prone to periodic crises. He
suggested that over time, capitalists would invest more
and more in new technologies, and less and less in labor.
Since Marx believed that surplus value appropriated from
labor is the source of profits, he concluded that the rate
of profit would fall even as the economy grew. When the
rate of profit falls below a certain point, the result would
be a recession or depression in which certain sectors of
the economy would collapse. Marx understood that
during such a crisis the price of labor would also fall, and
eventually make possible the investment in new
technologies and the growth of new sectors of the
economy.
Marx believed that this cycle of growth, collapse, and
growth would be punctuated by increasingly severe
crises. Moreover, he believed that the long-term
consequence of this process was necessarily the
enrichment and empowerment of the capitalist class and
the impoverishment of the proletariat. He believed that
were the proletariat to seize the means of production,
they would encourage social relations that would benefit
everyone equally, and a system of production less
vulnerable to periodic crises. In general, Marx thought
that peaceful negotiation of this problem was
impracticable, and that a massive, well-organized and