This is a new edition of a book that examines various forms, dimensions, and conceptions of inequality from a comparative perspective, with special reference to modern India. Combining social analysis with social criticism, Béteille focuses on traditional hierarchical orders as well as modern systems of inequality generated by the market and the state. This second edition includes new essays on "Individualism and the Persistence of Collective Identities," and "Equality of Opportunity and the Equal Distribution of Benefits" and a new introduction.