1/
[Transcribed thread describing how the boundaries of what I am calling "castes" might be defined, how they might arise, and the relationship of "caste" to "class"]
[Transcribed thread describing how the boundaries of what I am calling "castes" might be defined, how they might arise, and the relationship of "caste" to "class"]
2/
We can define the boundaries of a type/class/caste by a discontinuity in how it is perceived by insiders versus outsiders.
We can define the boundaries of a type/class/caste by a discontinuity in how it is perceived by insiders versus outsiders.
3/
X is a valid type because both Xs and non-Xs at least sometimes recognize it as a type but non-Xs perceive uniformity in X while Xs do not.
X is a valid type because both Xs and non-Xs at least sometimes recognize it as a type but non-Xs perceive uniformity in X while Xs do not.
4/
If you are describing a group of other people within society but you perceive (not merely infer) significant internal variation within that group, that's a broader category than I am talking about.
If you are describing a group of other people within society but you perceive (not merely infer) significant internal variation within that group, that's a broader category than I am talking about.
5/
If you are describing a group you belong to but do not perceive an internal hierarchy or taxonomy within that group other than the differences between individuals, then this is a narrower category than I am talking about.
If you are describing a group you belong to but do not perceive an internal hierarchy or taxonomy within that group other than the differences between individuals, then this is a narrower category than I am talking about.
6/
This test ensures a category we identify:
- Is itself a social reality for both insiders and outsiders,
- Is a cluster of actual people not a general descriptor,
- Is not a particular/incidental cluster like a single family, friend group, students in a class, etc.
This test ensures a category we identify:
- Is itself a social reality for both insiders and outsiders,
- Is a cluster of actual people not a general descriptor,
- Is not a particular/incidental cluster like a single family, friend group, students in a class, etc.
7/
What is left is a clustering of people with roughly similar endowments and backgrounds, working on similar bases of knowledge and culture, pursuing some social and/or economic strategies under similar circumstances.
What is left is a clustering of people with roughly similar endowments and backgrounds, working on similar bases of knowledge and culture, pursuing some social and/or economic strategies under similar circumstances.
8/
For convenience, I'm going to refer to this as a "caste". But please remember that these are fuzzy intersectional clusters and are not necessarily exclusive nor to they comprise a space-filling taxonomy of all people.
For convenience, I'm going to refer to this as a "caste". But please remember that these are fuzzy intersectional clusters and are not necessarily exclusive nor to they comprise a space-filling taxonomy of all people.
9/
I chose this term to highlight that those outside the caste think of it as a collective entity and that those within it tend to socialize/network/marry within it.
"Subculture" might have worked as well, but any word is going to have connotations beyond what I defined here.
I chose this term to highlight that those outside the caste think of it as a collective entity and that those within it tend to socialize/network/marry within it.
"Subculture" might have worked as well, but any word is going to have connotations beyond what I defined here.
10/
These castes, the actual clusters of people who live in similar areas, follow similar life plans, pursue similar occupations, etc are not quite the same thing as the "physical classes" I spoke of before.
These castes, the actual clusters of people who live in similar areas, follow similar life plans, pursue similar occupations, etc are not quite the same thing as the "physical classes" I spoke of before.
https://twitter.com/SumElseThing1/status/1333389986536755200
11/
For one thing, not all relevant attributes are heritable. Physical build/athleticism, G, Big 5 personality types, maybe Haidtian moral intuitions are, but much else that makes up a caste-type is culturally transmitted.
For one thing, not all relevant attributes are heritable. Physical build/athleticism, G, Big 5 personality types, maybe Haidtian moral intuitions are, but much else that makes up a caste-type is culturally transmitted.
12/
Other aspects are historically contingent. If you live in a racially or religiously diverse society, there will be clustering along these lines, whether voluntary or not.
Historical patterns of development and migration will be discernible across geographic regions.
Other aspects are historically contingent. If you live in a racially or religiously diverse society, there will be clustering along these lines, whether voluntary or not.
Historical patterns of development and migration will be discernible across geographic regions.
13/
The way I think class and caste interact is that people are endowed by birth with a set of attributes and a lineal cultural inheritance which are roughly optimized for general occupational or social roles (physical classes)...
The way I think class and caste interact is that people are endowed by birth with a set of attributes and a lineal cultural inheritance which are roughly optimized for general occupational or social roles (physical classes)...
14/
...and then there arise in the environment certain opportunities for which members of a particular class are well-suited and likely to benefit from relative to other available opportunities...
...and then there arise in the environment certain opportunities for which members of a particular class are well-suited and likely to benefit from relative to other available opportunities...
15/
...People migrate, alter their life plans, their social groups, their identities in order to benefit from the new opportunity.
And from this migration and sorting neighborhoods, congregations, civil society institutions, and eventually local cultures coalesce.
...People migrate, alter their life plans, their social groups, their identities in order to benefit from the new opportunity.
And from this migration and sorting neighborhoods, congregations, civil society institutions, and eventually local cultures coalesce.
16/
This body of people and relationships and social capital all together comprise the substance of the new caste.
Furthermore, there is feedback also between the emerging caste and the opportunity which gave rise to it.
This body of people and relationships and social capital all together comprise the substance of the new caste.
Furthermore, there is feedback also between the emerging caste and the opportunity which gave rise to it.
17/
For example, if the opportunity was employment in a certain industry, then over time the employer(s), seeing a labor supply rich in people with attributes of a particular class (morphology, G, personality, moral intuition), will adjust their practices to suit...
For example, if the opportunity was employment in a certain industry, then over time the employer(s), seeing a labor supply rich in people with attributes of a particular class (morphology, G, personality, moral intuition), will adjust their practices to suit...
18/
...Businesses in different industries which need similar laborers may start up or relocate in close proximity...
...Businesses in different industries which need similar laborers may start up or relocate in close proximity...
19/
...As the local culture develops, complementary castes may form. Populations of people with similar natural endowments will throw off "sports" of one typical sort rather than another.
And gradually, a local human ecosystem will come together.
...As the local culture develops, complementary castes may form. Populations of people with similar natural endowments will throw off "sports" of one typical sort rather than another.
And gradually, a local human ecosystem will come together.
20/
To outsiders, a region/town/neighborhood appears somewhat uniform. They've the grade school civics or Star Trek view:
"Place is temperate and suburban. Placians speak English, worship God, and primarily work in Industry. Place is a democracy, it's major export is Widgets."
To outsiders, a region/town/neighborhood appears somewhat uniform. They've the grade school civics or Star Trek view:
"Place is temperate and suburban. Placians speak English, worship God, and primarily work in Industry. Place is a democracy, it's major export is Widgets."
21/
To insiders, their own region/town/neighborhood is a complicated but familiar landscape of types, groups, and life-patterns.
To insiders, their own region/town/neighborhood is a complicated but familiar landscape of types, groups, and life-patterns.
22/
And the longer a society continues in relative stability, the more life in such a parochial setting will become the norm, the richer and more varied it's caste-cultures will become.
And the longer a society continues in relative stability, the more life in such a parochial setting will become the norm, the richer and more varied it's caste-cultures will become.
23/
But while the innate specialization of physical class adaptation proceeds linearly throughout time, the local cultures and relationships of caste systems are from time to time disrupted by external forces and events.
But while the innate specialization of physical class adaptation proceeds linearly throughout time, the local cultures and relationships of caste systems are from time to time disrupted by external forces and events.
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