“If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.”
― Lyndon B. Johnson
Geologists and physical archeologists can look at a cliffside and determine weather patterns, and events of the earth, that tell us some about the history of the earth — including volcanic events, earthquakes, global plates colliding, and so forth. In the case of geology, it is a matter of one new layer being settled upon an older, former, one. The layers are not all active at the same time — unlike layers of human society.
There have probably been pockets of egalitarianism throughout history and society. The book “Utopia” by Thomas More gives some glimpses into an angelic society such as that; but utopia is an idealized societal structure that can only be approached as a possible goal; a goal that is hardly ever reached — and never maintained.
General society has hierarchies which can be formalized or implied. In Russian feudal society, the layers were fixed: Royalty, Nobility, Peasants, and Serfs. There was almost no mobility between layers and there were less structured sublayers within each layer. The bottom layer was pretty universal within all feudal societies — the Serfs were property and anyone above them in the hierarchy could do anything to them that they wanted. The top layer was also pretty universal. Royalty owned everything but Nobles might be delegated to be directly responsible for some subset. Peasants (in other named hierarchies, sometimes known as Freemen (yes — gender on purpose)) were no longer considered to be property but terms of mutual obligation with the local royalty/nobility were dictated solely by the higher class.
Feudal society was common throughout Europe from the 9th through the 15th centuries. It was structured somewhat differently in each region, but still had the ruling classes on top and the working classes (and human property) on the bottom.
I don’t have enough knowledge about non-European systems to talk in depth about them — but most have in common the idea of a smaller group controlling a larger group that did the everyday work. The primary improvement over the feudal system past the 15th century was the concept of movement, and the creation of what many now call the “middle class”. Prior to these changes, if you were born a serf, you died a serf, and so did your children. Sure, there were tales (often totally made up) that talked about “diamonds in the rough” where a serf became the king — but there aren’t many (if any) recorded instances of this actually happening.
With increased mobility, a person could move up (or, more rarely, down — if a royal, or noble, lost status they often lost their life) in the social strata. Advancing to the rung of royalty has been strongly opposed by others in the ruling class but in the 20th and 21st century such has happened.
In almost every economic society, there are people in the bottom layer who do most of the physical work, almost all of the “unpleasant” physical work, and who have very little security in their lives. In India, the Dalits (“untouchables”) are at the bottom. In the U.S., it is minorities, recent immigrants (that did not come in under a H1-B Visa or other high tech Visa), and undocumented immigrants. In Australia, South Asian immigrants bring along their positions within their own caste system and the position of the aborigine is unclear. In much of modern Europe, there is a less strict boundary but those considered as “laborers” still make up the foundation, “lower”, class/layer.
In the U.S., the layers do shift — as does the population mixture. “No Irish Need Apply”, “Italians go Home”, “Whites Only” (that last one still exists — just not so explicitly), Large influxes of outside groups as immigrants often evoke discomfort, insecurity, and discrimination. And, of course, slaves were the lowest sublayer within the foundation layer prior to official elimination of slavery — though blacks are still often part of the foundation layer.
In diagrams of caste, or economic/social, systems the layers are often displayed as pyramids. This evolves naturally, as each layer “up” has fewer people and has more freedom of action and allowable actions. In the North American indigenous totem poles, it is the bottom layer that is the foundation of the story and the source of strength and support for the other layers — often representing spirit guardians or an animal protector for the group.
It isn’t required that the bottom layer be populated by people. We are now entering a period of time when it is no longer a fantasy to have robots, or multi-functioning AI or automation, take over many of the tasks of the foundation layer. Doing such forces a shift of the people filling the existing foundation layers and makes intrusions into other layers. Presently, there are no societies properly preparing for such a disruption.
The bottom layers of society are vital to local economic/societal functioning. Like the foundation of a house, they are more important to the structure than that which is built on top.
Without them, the rest of the layers crumble.
But the treatment of the people comprising the bottom layers is not predetermined. They can be treated horribly, as was most often the case with the enslaved population of the U.S., the situation of the Dalits in India, or the recent immigrant (legal or undocumented). They can also be recognized and respected. Alas, the spectrum of treatment more often leans toward poor treatment. But, since all layers serve a purpose, a more egalitarian treatment is warranted and quite possible to exist within a society.
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