I thought this interview about the book was pretty good: https://cafe.com/stay-tuned/americas-caste-system-with-isabe...

I think she's right that caste is a better way to view the issue in the US.

Thanks for the recommendation. That's going on my reading list.

We need to recognize that caste is class and we have the same issue in the US. People from the Ozarks don't marry into families in Manhattan.

I don't think this is a fair comparison. Yes, we have socioeconomic classes in the US (as every country does, whether admitted or not).

It's extremely rare to find a Manhattan family where the child would be disowned and completely cut out of the family for marrying someone from the Ozarks. You can't say the same for a "pro-caste" Brahmin family in India.

We have social class as well.

A plumber might make a lot more money than an associate professor, but it's crystal clear who's in the higher social class.

But it does happen. Same thing, different degree, right?

You can't say that an obvious outlier ("You want to marry someone from Missouri?!? You're out of the will!") is the "same thing" as widespread pseudo-racist, quasi-religious nonsense like the Indian caste system.

Yes I can.

I think this is largely true but not complete: the interaction between race and class in the US is complicated. Race is frequently used to divide people who on the face of it should be united by class issues.

There’s a famous LBJ quote about this:

“If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.“

It's all out-group enmity. We are very selective about which kinds we notice.

That’s reductive to the point of valuelessness. I get that reducing everything to “first principles” is the HN way, but sometimes the devil really is in the details.