1. Two key concepts in this video are the means of production and labor. In your comment, explain how you understand the means of production and labor. Give an example of each. From the video, the way labor is understood is what makes a product valuable and is the only thing that can increase the value of what someone, a company or business, or yourself are producing. One example of labor is when going through training or schooling to learn to create something, it can increase the value of production. Means of production on the other hand, are privately owned elements needed to produce. An example is products that are sold in a market.
  2. Another important concept in understanding social class is value. Based on the ideas presented in Video 5.1, what is value?  What give “value” to value, what makes something valuable?  Value is said to be by Marx, how much labour it takes to produce under normal circumstances. It also gives the “right price” to a product. What gives value to value, is measuring how much labour it took to produce something. Value created the saying “time is money”.
  3. How are labor and value related? What’s the relationship/connection between the two? The relationship/connections between labor and value is that labor allows to put a price on something to make it valuable. For example, if someone buys a house and reconstructs, it adds more value and can now be sold for more.
  4. How do you understand the difference between labor and labor power? Hint: this is a key difference, give it your best shot based on what the video says about it, and your own ideas. We’ll clarify and develop it in our discussions, and in my video comments. As Marx believed, Labor is value. Essentially meaning that you will be paid for the amount of labor put into your own product making it valuable. Labor power on the other hand is the capacity to do the work and not fully being valued by the actual labor that was put in. As stated by Professor Arto Artinian to better understand, “Capitalist want from the non-wealthy their labor power but not their ability to work.”
  5. Surplus Value: what is it? Why is it important to know about in our study of social classes? Think about an example of surplus value? Surplus value is the extra value on top of the value that was already produced and what capitalist would call profit. This is important to understand because it allows us to break down capitalism and class conflict in social classes. An example of surplus value is working a 9-5 but only being paid what you need to “survive”. The rest of your labor would belong to your boss or company.

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