Dystopia - Caste Systems

Caste Systems

In dystopian literature the advanced technology is controlled exclusively by the group in power, while the oppressed population is limited to technology comparable to or more primitive than what we have today. In order to emphasize the degeneration of society, the standard of living among the lower and middle classes is generally poorer than that of their equivalents in contemporary industrialized society.

In Nineteen Eighty-Four the Inner Party, the upper class of society, also has a standard of living that at least appears lower than the upper classes of today.

In contrast to Nineteen Eighty-Four, in Brave New World, and Equilibrium, people enjoy much higher material living-standards in exchange for the loss of other qualities in their lives, such as independent thought and emotional depth. In Fahrenheit 451, humanity lives in a glorious state of comfort, but has given up the meaning of life, and views death and love as misconveniences.

In some dystopias, advanced technology is available to everyone, but the lower class can't afford advanced electronics and other devices. These dystopias usually don't have a totalitarian government, but a government that is controlled by businesses. Some examples of these dystopias are Blade Runner and Robocop.

In Ypsilon Minus by Herbert W. Franke, people are divided into numerous alphabetically ranked groups. Similarly, in Brave New World, people are divided into castes ranging from Alpha-Plus to Epsilon, with the lower classes having reduced brain-function and special conditioning to make them satisfied with their position in life.