The Caste System in the US - Essay Example

Is there a caste system here in the US? If so, where do you see it? Have you experienced it?

The caste system according to definitions is the social stratification in a society that is based on heredity. India is the most popular nation practicing this stratification system and it is more rigid and overt. The caste system is however also practiced in many nations worldwide including in the United States of America. In the US, however, the caste system is not so rigid or open and it is hidden under many names commonly under the umbrella name of discrimination.

There are several areas where the caste system is evidently practiced here in the US. The two most common areas are politics and business (especially those that are entrepreneurial and successfully run by a family). In politics for example, individuals who become politicians just keep on ensuring that their families (mainly sons) follow in their footsteps and maintain their positions (Bardes, Mack, and Steffen 549). The case is true for families like that of former president George Bush and the Clinton family only to mention a few. Businesses are also maintained within families that are wealthy and no other individual “outsider” is allowed to run it despite the qualifications.

I have experienced the caste system indirectly through a close family member who was denied a managerial position in a prestigious company and the position given to a family member of one of the founders of the company who was still in school and hence had no experience whatsoever of being a manager. This can be said to be discrimination by the majority of the people but in the real sense, it is a fluid form of the caste system. Denial of its existence will only fuel it in the coming future hence making it more pronounced.