What concept describes the social relationships and hierarchies within a caste system?

The concept that describes the social relationships and hierarchies within a caste system is social stratification. Social stratification refers to the hierarchical arrangement of individuals in a society, often based on factors such as wealth, power, race, education, and prestige. In a caste system, individuals are grouped into rigid social categories that influence their social status, opportunities, and relationships with others throughout their lives.

This system is characterized by the lack of mobility between the castes, meaning that people typically remain within the social category they are born into, which solidifies the hierarchical structure. Social stratification emphasizes how different groups are placed in varying levels of privilege, which is intrinsic to the functioning of a caste system.

The other options, while related to social structures, do not specifically encapsulate the hierarchy and relationships intrinsic to a caste system. Social integration refers to the process of bringing different groups together into a cohesive social unit, social mobility concerns the ability to move up or down the social hierarchy, and social cohesion relates to the bonds that bring people together in a society. None of these terms accurately reflects the rigid and defined social hierarchies found in a caste system as clearly as social stratification does.