--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like his colleague Thomas, he viewed…" description: "\"“Like his colleague Thomas, he viewed prejudice as a form of instinct, but where Thomas set it down to a reaction to the Other’s physical appearance, P..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/pierre-saint-arnaud-113410_caste-system_like-his-colleague-thomas-he-viewed-prej_1079534.jpg" --- # Like his colleague Thomas, he viewed prejudice as a form… ![“Like his colleague Thomas, he viewed prejudice as a form of instinct, but where Thomas set it down to a reaction to the Other’s physical appearance, Park saw in it a manifestation of competition: Race prejudice may be regarded as a spontaneous, more or less instinctive defense-reaction, the…” quote by Pierre Saint-Arnaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/pierre-saint-arnaud-113410_caste-system_like-his-colleague-thomas-he-viewed-prej_1079534.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/pierre-saint-arnaud-113410_caste-system_like-his-colleague-thomas-he-viewed-prej_1079534.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/pierre-saint-arnaud-113410_caste-system_like-his-colleague-thomas-he-viewed-prej_1079534.jpg) > ““Like his colleague Thomas, he viewed prejudice as a form of instinct, but where Thomas set it down to a reaction to the Other’s physical appearance, Park saw in it a manifestation of competition: Race prejudice may be regarded as a spontaneous, more or less instinctive defense-reaction, the practical effect of which is to restrict free competition between races. Its importance as a social function is due to the fact that free competition, particularly between people with different standards of living, seems to be, if not the original source, at least the stimulus to which race prejudice is the response.48 Park’s reference to free competition hinted at the strains being placed on society in a postwar context in which massive foreign (and particularly Asian) immigration had resumed. He argued that where fundamental racial interests are not yet controlled by law, custom, or other arrangement between the groups in question, racial prejudice will inexorably develop. It may, however, be deflected by ‘the extension of the machinery of cooperation and social control’ – in the U.S. case, the caste system and slavery: we may regard caste, or even slavery, as one of those accommodations through which the race problem found a natural solution. Caste, by relegating the subject race to an inferior status, gives to each race at any rate a monopoly of its own tasks. When this status is accepted by the subject people, as in the case where the caste or slavery systems become fully established, racial competition ceases and racial animosity tends to disappear ... Each race being in its place, no obstacle to racial cooperation exists.49 This paper shows that Park’s thought in 1917 was not free of obfuscation and bias. One finds him maintaining that while ‘caste and the limitation of free competition is economically unsound,’ it is nonetheless ‘politically desirable’50 because”” Pierre Saint-Arnaud ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Park argues racial prejudice arises from competition for resources; he suggests structured hierarchies like caste reduce conflict but are politically undesirable. **In simple terms:** Prejudice stems from competition; hierarchies may limit it. Key Takeaway Address competition to reduce bias. Themes race prejudice competition social structure politics Mood analytical critical Type Caste system:1 Fitness:0 Physical appearance:0 Racial prejudice:1 Racism:1 Race Prejudice:1 Prejudice Regarded:0 Racial Competition:1 Prejudice Response:0 When to use this quote - post‑war societies - immigration debates - policy making - academic discourse - historical analysis Key Concepts sociology economics ethics Questions to Reflect On - Is forced hierarchy a viable solution to prejudice? - How can free competition be balanced with equity? A Different Perspective Linking prejudice to competition can oversimplify complex social dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caste system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caste-system/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Physical appearance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-appearance/) [Racial prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racial-prejudice/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [Race prejudice has nothing to do with color. It has to do with being the stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-morton/race-prejudice-has-nothing-to-do-with-color-it-has-to-do-with-being/) [Joe Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-morton/) > [We beg you to save young America from the blight of race prejudice. Do not bind the children within the narrow circles of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hamilton-houston/we-beg-you-to-save-young-america-from-the-blight-of-race-prejudice-do/) [Charles Hamilton Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hamilton-houston/) > [The arrogance of race prejudice is an arrogance which defies what is scientifically known of human races.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-arrogance-of-race-prejudice-is-an-arrogance-which-defies-what-is/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [Western civilization, Christianity, decency are struggling for their very lives. In this worldwide civil war, race prejudice is our most dangerous enemy, for it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/western-civilization-christianity-decency-are-struggling-for-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Profound as race prejudice is against the Negro American, it is not practically as far-reaching as the prejudice against women. For stripping away the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/profound-as-race-prejudice-is-against-the-negro-american-it-is-not/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The parallel between antifeminism and race prejudice is striking. The same underlying motives appear to be at work, namely fear, jealousy, feelings of insecurity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/the-parallel-between-antifeminism-and-race-prejudice-is-striking-the/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [“It is at this level that racism is treated as a question of persons. There are a few hopeless racists, but you must admit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/it-is-at-this-level-that-racism-is-treated-as-a-question-of-persons/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [“I am quite sure ... I have no race prejudice, and I think I have no color prejudices, nor caste prejudices. Indeed, I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-am-quite-sure-i-have-no-race-prejudice-and-i-think-i-have-no-color/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Seeing their children touched and seared and wounded by race prejudice is one of the heaviest crosses which colored women have to bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-church-terrell/seeing-their-children-touched-and-seared-and-wounded-by-race/) [Mary Church Terrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-church-terrell/) > [“the real thing behind the way folks feel is simply race prejudice—and I don’t say I’m blaming those that hold it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/the-real-thing-behind-the-way-folks-feel-is-simply-race-prejudice-and/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [Race prejudice is the devil unchained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-w-chesnutt/race-prejudice-is-the-devil-unchained/) [Charles W. Chesnutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-w-chesnutt/) > [Race prejudice is a gift of nature, intended to preserve in purity the various divisions of mankind which the ages have evolved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/race-prejudice-is-a-gift-of-nature-intended-to-preserve-in-purity-the/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [ There is no more evil thing in this world than race prejudice, none at all. \[...\] It justifies and holds together more baseness, cruelty,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/there-is-no-more-evil-thing-in-this-world-than-race-prejudice-none-at/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [Race prejudice is not only a shadow over the colored it is a shadow over all of us, and the shadow is darkest over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/race-prejudice-is-not-only-a-shadow-over-the-colored-it-is-a-shadow/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Race prejudice can't be talked down, it must be lived down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/race-prejudice-can-t-be-talked-down-it-must-be-lived-down/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Caste system quotes > [Class - or the economic status of individuals - is evident in all societies, some very well stratified by a rigid caste system determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/class-or-the-economic-status-of-individuals-is-evident-in-all/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Many immigrants do not talk about what they endured back home. They were fleeing that world, and when they left they didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/many-immigrants-do-not-talk-about-what-they-endured-back-home-they/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“The impact of the new caste system is most tragically felt among the young. In Chicago (as in other cities across the United States),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-impact-of-the-new-caste-system-is-most-tragically-felt-among-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“there is no inconsistency whatsoever between the election of Barack Obama to the highest office in the land and the existence of a racial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/there-is-no-inconsistency-whatsoever-between-the-election-of-barack/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“B.R. Ambedkar believed the tale was not so much about Ram’s character as it was about the unsustainability of the caste system that needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devdutt-pattanaik/b-r-ambedkar-believed-the-tale-was-not-so-much-about-ram-s-character/) [Devdutt Pattanaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devdutt-pattanaik/) > [Arguably the most important parallel between mass incarceration and Jim Crow is that both have served to define the meaning and significance of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/arguably-the-most-important-parallel-between-mass-incarceration-and/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“While the Reconstruction Era was fraught with corruption and arguably doomed by the lack of land reform, the sweeping economic and political developments in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/while-the-reconstruction-era-was-fraught-with-corruption-and-arguably/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cahill/two-men-went-up-into-the-temple-to-pray-the-one-a-pharisee-and-the/) [Mark Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cahill/) > [Comics have a caste system - an editor has to act in a certain way, an artist has to be humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kirby/comics-have-a-caste-system-an-editor-has-to-act-in-a-certain-way-an/) [Jack Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kirby/) > [The West remains obsessed by the caste system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-gautier/the-west-remains-obsessed-by-the-caste-system/) [Francois Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-gautier/) > [“The origin of the caste system, formulated by the great legislator Manu, was admirable. He saw clearly that men are distinguished by natural evolution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/the-origin-of-the-caste-system-formulated-by-the-great-legislator/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [Because of the caste system, because of the fact that there is no social link between those who make the decisions and those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/because-of-the-caste-system-because-of-the-fact-that-there-is-no/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“You do not win by struggling to the top of a caste system, you win by refusing to be trapped within one at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-do-not-win-by-struggling-to-the-top-of-a-caste-system-you-win-by/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) [Browse all 100 Caste system quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caste-system/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Like his colleague Thomas, he viewed prejudice as a form of instinct, but where Thomas set it down to a reaction to the Other’s physical appearance, Park saw in it a manifestation of competition: Race prejudice may be regarded as a spontaneous, more or less instinctive defense-reaction, the practical effect of which is to restrict free competition between races. Its importance as a social function is due to the fact that free competition, particularly between people with different standards of living, seems to be, if not the original source, at least the stimulus to which race prejudice is the response.48 Park’s reference to free competition hinted at the strains being placed on society in a postwar context in which massive foreign (and particularly Asian) immigration had resumed. He argued that where fundamental racial interests are not yet controlled by law, custom, or other arrangement between the groups in question, racial prejudice will inexorably develop. It may, however, be deflected by ‘the extension of the machinery of cooperation and social control’ – in the U.S. case, the caste system and slavery: we may regard caste, or even slavery, as one of those accommodations through which the race problem found a natural solution. 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