On Caste

This is one of those books that make you say “Aha!” The argument here is so obviously true that it is a wonder that more of us do not make it ourselves. Essentially, Wilkerson argues that the United States is a caste society, in line with places like India, Nazi Germany, and apartheid South Africa. This is not a new argument, sociologists, historians, and other scholars have made it before, but it is one that Wilkerson repackages and adds her own touch. While race is important, it is only important as a “meta-language,” in the words of Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. Race is something that we discuss to mask something deeper, and that deeper thing is caste. When we see black, brown, and white, we aren’t only seeing skin color, but roles ascribed to people of each skin tone. As a result, Wilkerson eschews the language of “race” in this book. Instead of calling someone black, white, Asian, Latino, etc., she uses “low caste,” “middle caste,” and “upper caste.” While all Americans recognize, on some level, the fact that each “race” has a role ascribed to it, and many push back against these roles, the place of caste is so deeply rooted in American consciousness that it is impossible to avoid—even seemingly innocent actions can be much more ominous when read through the lens of caste.

This is a great argument, and it’s one that I needed to read and come to terms with. Wilkerson is absolutely right. That said, I do wish her analysis went a bit deeper here. There are some comparisons to India and Germany under the Third Reich, but a lot of these comparisons only seem skin-deep. I would have liked to see much more concerted engagement with these other societies in conversation with the United States. Yet, Wilkerson’s book is not a comparative study, she’s just applying an analytical lens to one country: the United States. Within the United States, she marshals some great reportage and anecdotes—it would be difficult to push back against her case. Unfortunately, even these cases lack some of the analytical depth that would have made this book so much more captivating.

Wilkerson makes her point, but it’s also important to read more broadly in order to get the full implication of her arguments. I read Heather McGhee’s The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together before Caste, and I felt that reading the two in conversation was great, as McGhee shows us just how deeply racial resentment runs. Any reader who reads beyond Wilkerson will find this to be a valuable text, but those who read Wilkerson on her own might find it a bit lacking. Nevertheless, I can’t help but recommend this, it’s a must-read.