Artha Vijnana: Journal of The Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics

Andre Beteille

Abstract

Some scholars have made a sharp distinction between societies based on the principle of hierarchy and those based on the principle of equality. Traditional Indian society, with its multitude of castes and sub castes, is the text-book example of a hierarchical society while western societies, in both Europe and America, were the first to espouse the principle of equality in modern times. This distinction, which stands out quite sharply in historical perspective, does not appear as clear when we look at the world today. The hierarchical conception of society nowhere enjoys the legitimacy it did in the past while, at the same time, the ideal of equality too has become a little tarnished.

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