What Weber Got Right About Brahmins—Testing His Theories About South Asian Caste Hierarchies

Abstract

The following article is an assessment of Max Weber's depiction of Brahmins and ascetics in South Asia. Using contemporary historical analyses, the article has attempted to demonstrate the validity of Weber's analyses in his seminal treatise on South Asian society, “The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism” that he had originally published in German in 1916. Upon examining the accuracy of Weber's descriptions regarding the domination of Brahmins in South Asian society in contrast to Dumont's assertions in his seminal work “Homo Hierarchicus” published in 1966, we find Weber's portrayal to be significantly more accurate. These findings indicate that caste groups in South Asia can be deemed comparable to status groups in Western societies, by utilizing a Weberian methodology rather than a Dumontian one. The correlation of power and status by the former have significant implications for sociological theories related to caste/status in South Asia and beyond.