Caste : the origins of our discontents Cover Image

Book

Caste : the origins of our discontents / Isabel Wilkerson.

Summary:

The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power--which groups have it and which do not. Wilkerson explores how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. She discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.

Record details

ISBN: 9780593230251 (hardcover)
ISBN: 0593230256 (hardcover)
Physical Description: xvii, 476 pages ; 25 cm.
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : Random House, [2020]
Copyright: ©2020

Content descriptions

General Note:	Series information from jacket
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages [443]-453) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	The man in the crowd -- Part 1: Toxins in the permafrost and heat rising all around -- Part 2: The arbitrary construction of human divisions -- Part 3: The eight pillars of caste -- Part 4: The tentacles of caste -- Part 5: The consequences of caste -- Part 6: Backlash -- Part 7: Awakening -- Epilogue: A world without caste.