17 June 2012

India's Caste/Varna System: An Economic System

The four inputs (factors) of production are land, labour, capital and knowledge. Efficiency can be achieved by specialisation. In ancient India, different social groups (Varnas) specialised in handling the different factors of production:

Varna
Factor of Production
Brahmana
Knowledge
Kshatriya
Land
Vaishya
Capital
Shudra
Labour

Thus the Varna/caste system was born, based on economic specialisation.

See The Origin of the Varna/Caste System.