Final answer:
A caste system is a closed form of social stratification where individuals are born into a fixed social group and cannot change their status. It enforces social inequality based on birth and contrasts with more open systems like class systems that allow for mobility. Cultural beliefs strongly reinforce the immobility within caste systems.
Step-by-step explanation:
A group ranked in a system of social stratification into which members are born for life is known as a caste system. The caste system is a closed form of social stratification where people are assigned social status, roles, and occupations at birth and have no opportunity for social mobility. Within this system, the socioeconomic tiers are rigid, preventing individuals from moving out of the social group they are born into, despite their talents, interests, or efforts.
Caste systems are characterized by social inequality based on an individual's circumstances of birth. In contrast, a class system, which is more open, allows for social mobility and ranks members of society into different groups based on factors such as wealth, income, education, and occupation. Societies that utilize a caste system reinforce social stratification through cultural beliefs and ideologies, often making it difficult or impossible for an individual to change their social standing.