The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c17.5

c17.5

Analyses of the caste system, however much they may differ from each other, agree in at least one point. They all stress its immutability and total command over society. So also Weber's analysis. One may enter caste society as a group—by way of *Vergesellschaftung*—or one may leave it as an individual by renouncing the world, but the system remains unchangeable. Its grid can be endlessly refined, but it cannot be breached or transformed. In fact, Weber steps up and finalizes this line of thinking by bringing in the karma theodicy. In his view, this doctrine is the coping stone of the caste system, for it entails strict adherence to one's caste duties and rewards such adherence with the prospect of ever-improving rebirths, which will eventually lead to the ultimate goal of salvation. In this connection, Weber even comes to qualify the junction of caste and karma as a *Kastensoteriologie*.⁸ And although he is perfectly aware that his intellectual doctrine cannot have been comprehended by all and sundry, Weber does argue that the promise of a progression to higher and better rebirths held out to the lower castes in a significant degree contributes to the latter's often observed conservatism.⁹