Just to play devil's advocate!, let me suggest that perhaps there IS a positive side to this. In the U.S., we're never allowed to feel satisfied with where we are; even if we're rich, especially if we're rich, we're supposed to try to get richer. The working class is made to feel stupid for "only" being workers, the middle class has to constantly struggle to maintain its standing, etc.

Don't get me wrong, of course. I'm not defending caste systems. But class systems not only have similar, if less rigid, inequities, they have something that caste society's don't: the demand that we never be satisfied with ourselves! Worse still, they get us to see that as a positive thing! But I ask, don't all societies need most of the occupations within them? Don't we need manual labor done, cleaning done? Etc? So why don't we respect the people who do this work? Worse, why do we make it hard for them to respect themself?

In my perfect world, of course, we'd pay more for work that is LESS rewarding, more boring, etc, just as we'd respect people for doing it!