Which term refers to a system of stratified inequality in which status is largely determined at birth and people are locked into their parent's social positions?

Which term refers to a system of stratified inequality in which status is largely determined at birth and people are locked into their parent's social positions?

• A. Slavery
• B. Caste
• C. Estate
• D. Class systems

Answer: (B)

The concept being tested is a system where social position is fixed mostly by birth and people remain in their parents’ rank for life. That describes a caste. In a caste system, groups are hereditary and social mobility is extremely limited; membership is ascribed at birth and daily life—who you can marry, what work you do, whom you can associate with—is largely determined by your caste. This creates a highly stratified hierarchy where change in status is rare and difficult. Slavery centers on the ownership of people and their lack of freedom, which is a different kind of social relation than a birth-based, closed hierarchy within a society. The estate concept refers to historical feudal divisions with inherited privileges too, but it’s a specific historical framework rather than the universal, birth-determined, endogamous structure that caste represents. Class systems, by contrast, allow more movement and are based more on achieved status through wealth, education, and occupation rather than strictly on birth.

The concept being tested is a system where social position is fixed mostly by birth and people remain in their parents’ rank for life. That describes a caste. In a caste system, groups are hereditary and social mobility is extremely limited; membership is ascribed at birth and daily life—who you can marry, what work you do, whom you can associate with—is largely determined by your caste. This creates a highly stratified hierarchy where change in status is rare and difficult.

Slavery centers on the ownership of people and their lack of freedom, which is a different kind of social relation than a birth-based, closed hierarchy within a society. The estate concept refers to historical feudal divisions with inherited privileges too, but it’s a specific historical framework rather than the universal, birth-determined, endogamous structure that caste represents. Class systems, by contrast, allow more movement and are based more on achieved status through wealth, education, and occupation rather than strictly on birth.