If I'm understanding you correctly, you're asking for opinions about the caste system and the way higher caste people can buy opportunities while lower caste folks cannot get opportunities for social advancement.
All societies have some kind of discrimination based on social class, but the caste system is particularly cruel, since a child is born into it without the chance to move up or down.
The American revolutionary, Thomas Jefferson, found this idea repellent. He said that there should be a kind of "natural aristocracy" made up of people with superior intelligence and talent, regardless of the social class of their parents. The United States has striven imperfectly towards this goal. As a result, the U.S. has a large middle class (though it is shrinking in recent years) and people can climb in social rank regardless of their birth.
In fact, this sort of social climbing self-made man is part of our mythology, from Benjamin Franklin to the fictional Jay Gatsby, to media magnate Ted Turner. Politicians running for president often compete with each other to portray themselves as having "pulled themselves up" from poverty and hardship. John Kerry lost the 2004 presidential election partly because he was perceived to be a member of the Northeastern upper-class elite, whereas George Bush was seen as a "regular guy" from Texas.
However, even in the U.S., which sees itself as very egalitarian, some groups are handicapped by race or other factors over which they had no control. African-Americans are still stereotyped and discriminated against, Asian-Americans are seen as perpetual foreigners no matter how many generations their families have been in the U.S., and white southerners are viciously stereotyped as uneducated hicks by their northern brothers. As I said earlier, America's road to a completely caste-free society has been imperfect and remains uncompleted.
I hope that your society, as well as mine, will continue to make equality of opportunity one of its primary goals. Best wishes to you, friend.
2006-08-06 06:23:54
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answer #1
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answered by mistersato 5
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Most culture do not have castes in their cultures. I believe India is the only culture that still had a caste system in the 21st century.
Personally I don't feel treating people differently because of their 'caste' or family status. People are people and should be treated for who they are, not who their family was.
2006-08-06 12:58:40
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answer #2
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answered by Kleineganz 5
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This problem is likely to exist in India. This is what I presume as I haven't heard about similar problems from any where around the world. Your question is an age old question... since the days when Mandal Commission came into force with full swing(in India). Unfortunately there is nobody to think of the fOrward castE poor people... atleast not till we continue with parliamentary form of democracy in India. This is a problem and burden which we have to carry on till the present form of governance stays in our country. last but not the least please go through the question you have framed... it has "N" number of grammatical and typographical errors. Please ensure that they are not repeated in your next question/answers!!!
2006-08-06 16:22:47
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answer #3
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answered by Abhijit 5
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