Fantastic Caste System: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"The faultless and immaculate castes form the lower tiers of elvish society, with the exquisite caste above them. At the pinnacle is the perfect, a consummate blend of aristocrat and predator."''|'''Elvish Promenade''' flavor text, ''[[Magic the Gathering|Magic: The Gathering]]''.}}

 

 

In real life, social inequality and social stratification can be problems. However, in science fiction, things are often a lot worse. Fantastic Social Inequality is what happens. This type of fictionalized society generally consists of some measure of central planning by elites, with all of the "dirty work" being done by workers. Expect for the latter to be thought of as a different culture, and in some cases may even be a different species. Rest assured that if this system is particularly oppressive, the heroes are not about to let this lie without trying to reform the system by convincing the rulers to change things or if necessary, instigating or at least supporting a lower caste revolution.

== Live Action TV ==

* ''[[Star Trek the Original Series (TV)|Star Trek the Original Series]]'' episode "The Cloud Minders". The Stratos cloud city dwellers believed the "troglyte" (troglodyte) miners had race-based inferior intellects and used them as slaves, but the miners were actually suffering from zenite gas poisoning.

** Though amusingly enough, {{spoiler|the working class ends up the dominant caste.}}

** [[Word of God]] says that most of the Minbari warships are owned by the worker and religious castes and chartered to the warriors. This explains why the Minbari were able to keep their end up against the Shadows without the help of the Warrior Caste. It also hints that the system is probably complex involving turf wars and assignments of jurisdiction to castes that have little relation to their nominal purpose. Delenn is more a stateswoman then a priestess though she was one of the Sisters of Valeria in her youth.

[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]

[[Category:Fantastic Caste System]]