1. Owners and employees are different in how they relate to labor and income. Owners are the people or families who possess the wealth of the community and who frequently make their living from investments such as bonds, stocks, and income from real estate. Either by owning businesses or getting profits on their investments, they make their living off the labor of others.
    Employees, on the other hand, are those who have to work to support themselves. This group consists of managers, professionals, and employees from factories and services. Wages, salaries, and other types of costs are how employees make ends meet, and their labor is what keeps them going. An example of this is Amazon. Amazon has strict policies for its employees to the point where it’s tedious to get up every day and work for the company while its owner Jeff Bezos attends parties and even goes on space shuttles to go to outer space without a single care in the world while his employees are breaking their backs for him.
  2. From what I understand, the quote from Adam Smith on page 28 points out that the time and labor required to produce a good is the important cause for its value. It suggests that the effort required throughout different phases of a product’s development, such as the extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, advertising, and selling, determines the true value of the commodity. According to Smith, labor contribution makes up the value of goods as money only acts as a simple representation of those prices.
  3. My thoughts on Reading 4.4’s argument that class isn’t an identity is that I agree that socioeconomic guidelines shouldn’t be used to restrict class to a single identity. To me, a person’s identity is more diverse and complicated than a social standing based on money, status, or education. The emphasis on accepting a person’s character over social divisions is something I enjoy because it shares my own beliefs about how important it is to take into account each person’s uniqueness. I agree with the author that identity goes far beyond social categories and should be recognized for its complexity and diversity.
  4. The argument made in Reading 4.4 that “class structures are built around a close form of dependency” can be supported using an example like the actor/ writer strikes from July-November 2023. In the entertainment industry, major production companies or studios owned by the capitalist class employ actors and writers representing the working class. The productions were put on hold when writers/actors went on strike, and when studios were at risk of losing profit, actors/writers were at risk of getting evicted from their homes or not being able to get the basic necessities due to not having a job. This shows a strong connection between those who provide labor and those who control the means of production. This shows the power dynamics and economic connections linked to class structures, showing how dependency significantly influences both sides of the class divide.

Leave a Reply