Caste System In Brave New World

Brave Old World:

The Indian Caste System and Aldous Huxley’s Dystopia

According to sociologists, a caste system is a social structure composed of ascribed statuses; that is, the governing principles of a society divide its people by inalterable traits. However, the Indian caste system is a more complex matter in that it does not exist solely for the division of economic classes, or loosely govern the relations between subcultures. Rather, the castes are binding social contracts that tie directly into the predominant religion of the region. The Hindu caste system, on the whole, represents not only economic disparity in the Indian subcontinent, but social discrimination and the necessity that a society remains at a cultural equilibrium. Spanning several thousands of years, the caste system of India has only recently been abolished, while much of its hold over Indian culture has yet to subside; it is an enduring concept that has profound

Huxley’s system of dividing people in the World State is fixed on the notion of filling all the necessary functions in society, from productivity to reproduction to governing; this is almost precisely the purpose of the jati in India. They also follow the pattern of predestination, determining before birth what career a person will take up and what status they will have in society. In fact, one can argue that the World State has perfected predestination by conditioning its citizens to be satisfied with their lot in life. The social division of the classes is also similar, in that lower castes are perceived as lesser, while upper classes are to be admired. These similarities are unsurprising, as Brave New World was written around the time of the major campaigns against the caste system. Huxley draws from the caste system to add a further dimension to his fictional world and provide social commentary on the strict division of socioeconomic