1. What is the distinction that Reading 4.3 makes between owners and employees? Give an example of each.
  2. How do you understand the quote by Adam Smith on pg. 28? What is it saying about labor?
  3. What are your thoughts on the main argument of Reading 4.4 that class is NOT an identity?
  4. How do you understand the argument Reading 4.4. makes when stating that “class structures are built around a close form of dependency”? What is this close form of dependency, and can you think of an example?

4 thoughts on “Discussion Board 4.2”

  1. 1-Reading 4.3 talks about the difference between owners and workers. It mentions a quote by Adam Smith about work. It also explains what class means when we think of who we are and how classes are connected to each other, giving some examples.

    2-Adam Smith wrote about how work and making things are important for creating value in the economy. He said that value comes from the effort put into changing materials into things that people can use, not just from the materials themselves.

    3-Reading 4.4 suggests class is a social and economic position determined by one’s relationship to production means and economic roles, rather than a personal or cultural identity. It challenges the notion that class identity is solely about personal choice or cultural affiliation, emphasizing the dynamic and structural impact of economic and social structures.

    4-Class structures are based on a close form of dependency, highlighting the interconnected relationships between different classes in the economic system. This dependency highlights the reliance on each other for economic functioning, such as the working class relying on the owning class for employment and wages, and the owning class relying on the working class for labor and production.

  2. 1. Reading 4.3 talks about all the differences between owners and employees and what separates them. People who fall under owners make their income through investments, which include stocks, bonds, rents, mineral royalties, and other property incomes, while employees typically make money from wages, salaries, and fees. Their relationship dynamic is also different between owner and employee since owners benefit from all the work employees put in, while employers do not benefit from the work they put in.
    2.On pg 28 Adam smith quote means that what gives something value is not only the price of the actual item, but how much work it takes to actually produce and create the item.
    3.In reading 4.4, the main argument is that class is not an identity, but rather based on your social status and how much you make. I agree with the statement that class is not an identity because although you may have you’re own personal view on yourself, you’re social class is what defines you to the rest of the world and how people perceive you when they don’t know you personally.
    4.Class structures are dependent on each other because one cannot exist without the other. While it is true that the “owning” class are the ones that have the power since employees depend on their business for a paycheck, the same can be said that if all the working class decided to quit working, the “owning” class would eventually cease to exist since their would be no one left to work for their business.

    1. Hi Vincent, I just got done reading your response to the Discussion Board 4.2 questions and I found them to be really well done! Your answer regarding how owners make their income via their property and workers make their income via the work that they put in is spot on. Same with your explanation of Adam Smith’s quote, where the value of an item is dependent on the amount of work that’s actually put into making it in the first place and not the price that’s put on a store shelf. The answer that you had for the third question is interesting, since I viewed the argument from socialists tht class isn’t an identity, but a structure that was based on society depending on capitalists due to the resources that they have. However, your interpretation does make sense since capitalists make so much more money than workers and capitalists do rely on workers for the production of their resources. Finally, your answer to the final question was spot on, since both the owning class and employees rely on each other for different things (employees for the jobs that the owning class provides and the owning class for the labor and productivity that employees provide). Great job with your response!

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