[TheLoneWolfling]

> You can do exactly what java calls enums with classes in C#

No you cannot. You lose the single biggest benefit of enumerations - namely compile-time checking. (For instance: warning when a switch statement does not cover all cases.)

Try to do this in C#, and you'll see what I mean: http://snipplr.com/view/42422/the-planet-enum-example/. Either you end up with it being ~3x as verbose (if not more), or you lose the compile-time benefits, or both.