Thus the conquest of southern Europe by northern tribes led to a period of somewhat confused readjustment， in which men of natural power bettered their status.The classes which emerged were as much the result of competition as derived by inheritance from those of tribal society.And so the openness of classes in our own day may be due as much to confusion as to a permanent decline in the caste principle.
That a low state of communication and of enlightenment are favorable to caste， while intelligence梕specially political intelligence梐nd facility of intercourse antagonize it， becomes evident when we consider what， psychologically speaking， caste is.It is an organization of the social mind on a biological principle.That functions should follow the line of descent instead of adjusting themselves to individual capacity and preference， evidently means the subordination of reason to convenience， of freedom to order.The ideal principle is not biological but moral， based， that is， on the spiritual gifts of individuals without regard to descent.Caste， then， is something which， we may assume， will give way to this higher principle whenever the conditions are such as to permit the latter to work successfully； and this will be the case when the population is so mobilized by free training and institutions that just and orderly selection is practicable The diffusion of intelligence， rapid communication， the mobilization of wealth by means of money， and the like， mark the ascendancy of the human mind over material and biological conditions.Popular government becomes possible， commercial and industrial functions梠ther things equal梒ome under more open competition， and free personal development of all sorts is fostered.The general sentiment also， perceiving the superiority of free organization to caste， becomes definitely hostile to the latter and antagonizes it by public educational and other Opportunities.The most effective agent in keeping classes comparatively open is an adequate system of free training for the young， tending to make all careers accessible to those who are naturally fit for them.In so far as there is such a system early education becomes a process of selection and discipline which permits ability to serve its possessor and the world in its proper place.In our own society梬e may note in passing梩his calls for a great development of public education， especially in the way of trade schools and the like， and also for an effective campaign against child-labor， bad housing and whatever else shuts off opportunity.
But before this mobility is achieved， caste is perhaps the only possible basis for an elaborate social structure； the main fiow of thought is then necessarily in local channels The people cannot grasp the life of which they are a part in any large way， or have a free and responsible share in it， but are somewhat mechanically held in place by habit and tradition.
Those special relations to the system of government， religion or industry which are implied in classes， since they cannot be determined by rational selection must be fixed in some traditional way， and the most available is the inheritance of functions.
We may expect， then， that complex， stationary societies of low mental organization will tend toward caste.That this is true， in a general way， is shown by the prevalence of caste in Oriental nations to-day， and in the later history of the great empires of antiquity.It goes without saying that each society has its peculiarities which only special study could elucidate.
Endnotes Germanic Origins， 154 Tout， The Empire and The Papacy， 59.Cornish， Chivalry， 183.Samuel Johnson， Oriental Religions， India， 241.Ibid.