1. How I understand means of production is that it is the tools/resources needed to make a product or item for the people, and labor is the people that are working to make that product or item. An example I came up with is a producer and artist making a song. They need a studio, microphone, instruments, and computers to make a song. The producer makes the beat for the artist using the instruments and computer inside the studio for the artist, and then the artist uses the microphone and their voice and thoughts to record a song, after it’s done they submit it to the label for them to distribute it.
  2. In the video, labor is defined as “how much labor it takes to produce under normal circumstances”. This in a simpler way is basically the time it takes to produce a product/item. What makes something valuable is the time that is put into a product.
  3. Labor and value are connected in that the more labor its needed to put into a product the more valuable it becomes and vice versa.
  4. From my understanding the difference between labor and labor power is that labor is you putting in the work to make a product/item, and labor power is you needing rest, food, and water for you to put in the labor for said product/item as without it you wouldn’t be able to do it.
  5. Surplus value is the profits the laborers make that are more than their pay. For example, if I’m working for a Nike Store and I help sell $1,200 products in a day and I work 8 hours a day and get paid $18.50 an hour I’m only making $148 while the store keeps $1,052.

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