1.The Role of Citizens in Federal, Confederation, and Unitary Systems

When analyzing federal, confederation, and unitary systems, I observe that citizens’ participation in government varies significantly. The United States of America is a federal system of government; this implies that power is divided between the federal and state governments, giving citizens a voice in both. This clearly indicates that citizens can make local decisions through their state representatives while national choices can be made through the members of Congress. In a confederation, states retain most of the power; thus, citizens can participate more actively in local government but not in the central government. This structure can reduce the strength of the national government and its capacity to act on broad agenda items. On the other hand, the unitary system of government, where power is vested in one national government, reduces the capacity of citizens primarily to participate in local affairs. I think that the federal system is the most appropriate for people to engage in the process due to the fact that it can sometimes be challenging to comprehend which tier of the government is in charge of specific matters.

2. Division of Power

As I am aware, power sharing means the separation of power, where power is decentralized between various branches of government so that nobody can amass too much power. This is because the US Constitution establishes the principle of the division of powers in order to prevent any branch of government or level of government from dominating the other. This system is supposed to safeguard the rights of individuals and make sure that decisions reached are in the general interest of the people, but in reality it sometimes creates a stalemate. Moreover, competitive federalism, whereby the state and federal actors view for the most appropriate solutions, can either improve or worsen the decision-making process.

3. Federal Government’s Influence During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The federal government has either influenced or shaped the various activities or actions that state and local governments have undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the perspective of New York, this fact can be established by certain examples, such as the policies of social distancing, mask-wearing, and vaccine distribution issued by the federal government. Correspondingly, it also arranged for a certain amount of emergency funding available through the programs of the CARES Act to help the states cope with the economic consequence of the pandemic scenario. However, due to the federal system of government, each state, including New York, was at liberty on matters concerning the lockdowns, closure of businesses, and any other measure that may have an effect on the spread of the virus. This was a more efficient approach that was useful for the New York state but also introduced variation in the work across the country. This proves how federalism provides room for variation but, at the same time, creates ambiguity and disparate measures during calamities.

1. The constitution was crafted by the rich elite, the proprietors, the politicians, the merchants, the traders, and others. The lower class, such as the small farmers or laborers, was left out of the process. The elite crafted the Constitution to protect the elitist interests of power and wealth.

2. Social stratification in the early days of the United States is differed from today’s, but there is a certain similarity. During the formation of the political system in early America, political power was firmly in the hands of the wealthy owners of the land. Today, there is an enhanced opportunity for broader segments of society to engage in decision-making through government, but this still remains in the hands of the rich through political economy.

3. The writers despised democracy because they believed that the lowest ordinary bracket in society should not be empowered. They feared the people might take actions that would jeopardize their capital and investments. This fear of the lower classes is evident in the design of the Constitution, which restricted direct democracy as a form of governance.

1.Factions seem pretty similar to societal classes. In the same manner as factionalism, interest within social classes is rather motivated as opposed to general interest.

2.Madison views social wealth as coming from diversified faculties (skills and abilities that people possess). People who possess some skills and talents gain property and wealth, while persons who lack these faculties continue to be poor. The framers of the two institutions expected and desired this division.

3.While I partially agree with this explanation, on the one hand, skills, and hard work contribute to earning boosts, but on the other hand, factors such as education and resource allocation result in inequality of wealth distribution, so the system turns out to be unjust for many.

4.The core mission of the U.S. government as outlined in Federalist No. 10, is to protect property rights. This deviation is apparent because the writers were keen to safeguard the interests of the wealthy property-owning class. But today, people see the government’s activity in terms of equity and social justice.

5.I am not surprised that Federalist No. 10 argued for a republican form of governance against pure democracy. The framers desired the concentrated power of the wealth and property owners, which they felt threatened by direct democracy.

1. Understanding the Means of Production and Labor

When I think of the means of production, I consider them as tools, resources, and commodities for creating something, whether it is tangible or intangible. In other words, the instruments in the handicraft sense that would be used, for instance, in making a video, the camera, the microphone, and the editing software used during the video preparation, are the means of production. On the other hand, labor or work is an effort that I would invest to make the output of these tools. Hence, I apply effort when shooting, enhancing, or uploading the video. Without my work, the tools or means of production are just lying idle-they require me or any other worker to apply effort and add value through labor.

2. What is Value?

 As defined by Marxist theory, value is created through labor. According to (Philosophy Tube, 2016), value is considered when labor is added to an object, and the product’s value is enhanced. A piece of wood is simply a wooden log until a laborer processes it into a chair; it becomes precious. According to this theory, the value of an article is measured by the sum of the labor time spent on creating it under average circumstances, or the more time-consuming and skilled the labor used to produce the particular product, the more valuable the product. This is the basis of Marx’s Labor Theory of Value.

3. How are Labor and Value Related?

 Labor positively correlates with values, most of which are earned through labor. As the video depicts, when labor is not being input into raw material, it will be as it is. However, where physical effort is directed towards a change in substance (for example, transforming a log into a chair), it obtains some value due to the time and energy applied. Hence, from this perspective,value may be described as the effort used in producing a given good.

4. Difference Between Labor and Labor Power

From my point of view, the relation between labor and labor power is that labor implies the work done or an action made to create an object or offer a service. Labor power is defined as my ability or capability to work; it is what I bring forth to an employer whenever we bargain on my employment. The labor power I actively offer for sale in employment relationships differs from the labor I do upon being hired. The difference here is that labor power is the capacity to work, whereas labor is the action of working.

5. Surplus Value

Surplus value refers to the extra value or profits that I create through labor but which undergoes appropriation by the capitalist (Jalee, n.d.). For instance, if I was paid for 8 hours of work, what I made in value is more than what I paid for in the 8 hours, then the extra value belongs to the capitalist. This is the core of Marx’s view of capitalist society because it shows that workers are cheated – as they add value more than they are paid, the balance constitutes the capitalist.

In the M-C-M cycle of capital accumulation, a capitalist has money M, buys commodities, which include means of production and labor power to produce other commodities, and then sells them for money M’, which is more than the initial amount of money they started with. This cycle shows how Money became capitalists and constantly recycled profits back into production to extract even more surplus from labor. The materials from Parenti and Jalee attached below emphasize that this cycle is the heart of the capitalist wealth creation process.

1. Wealth Inequality Statistic

The income distribution graphic is shocking. It says that only 1% of the wealthy people in the US have more material wealth than the remaining 90% of the nation’s population. This is made possible by the capitalist model, where owners of the factors of production benefit much more from the surplus value than the workers who earn meager wages and salaries that do not even reflect the value of what they produce.

2. Implications of Wealth Inequality

Inequality increases wealth disparity, thereby leading to several social impacts. It leads to what can be described currently as the prosperity of the affluent and the suffering of the poor and needy. Thus, inequality seems like a normalized aspect of life by presenting it in issues we face today, such as skyrocketing housing prices, people unable to afford medical care, and education being unavailable to you if you are not wealthy enough to attain it(Parenti, n.d.). The accumulation of wealth into a few hands maintains a class system in society and exposes workers to uncertainty.

1. Distinction Between Owners and Employees in Reading 4.3

Reading 4.3: According to the capitalist system, owners and employees are defined by Michael Parenti. Business employers or managers, for instance, business proprietors or shareholders, make decisions regarding controlling the means of production to earn more profits. They control major funds and the standards of production, and they engage in the control and manipulation of the labor market. For instance, the owner of a factory determines which products to manufacture, determines the wages for employees, and regulates the working environment(Parenti, 2024). On the other hand, employees, such as factory workers, lack ownership of any production segment. Such workers are wage workers; they sell their ability to work at an agreed wage and have little say in their working conditions or whether they will have a job next week. They engage in performing tasks but are ordered by the owners to do so to contribute to production without having an equal share of profit but wages only. 

2. Understanding Adam Smith’s Quote on Labor

According to Page 28, Adam Smith’s quote demonstrates that labor is the real source of value in any economy. He argues that every country’s wealth is directly linked to the working power of human beings. Smith states that labor is before capital or ownership in constructing economic activities. In labor, the articles of trade gain value and thus are the key elements that lead to economic empowerment (Smith, 1776). This view stresses that workers should be paid fairly because this conception understands labor as an indispensable source of wealth. In other words, Smith recommends an economic structure that pays attention to the efforts of the employees, who are the real providers of goods and services. 

3. Thoughts on Reading 4.4’s Argument that Class is Not an Identity

Reading 4.4 The authors believe that class should not be regarded as an identity and a social marker but as a structural social status. It also proposes a new understanding of class, which differs from race or gender and is associated with cultural or personal factors. The reading stresses that class is based on one’s position as per the means of production and economic control. It is an empirical fact related not to the person’s subjective self-identity or social role, which cannot be changed at will depending on one’s availability of material and resources. This view agrees with Marxist approaches to class, where the class is economic relations, assigning different roles to people as owners rather than workers or vice versa. 

4. Understanding the Argument in Reading 4.4 About “Close Form of Dependency”

Reading 4.4 explains that “class structures involving a close form of dependency” relate to the dependency of the different classes in a capitalist world. This form of dependency is seamless, where the working class depends on the capitalist class for basic needs in wages while the latter depends on the working class to make profits from produced goods and services. One of the examples of such dependence is the gig economy. Employees, for example, the drivers of ride-hailing platforms like Uber or delivery personnel of platforms like DoorDash, depend on the companies for their livelihood. At the same time, these companies require the same constant supply of such workers to enable them to continue providing services to sustain this business model. While both groups require one another, passive power and control always favor owners or capitalists. 

1. Ideology is a collection of ideas, beliefs, and values that people hold that affect their ways of interpreting reality and making choices. It is a concept that people or organizations use to make sense of social, political, and economic phenomena. Ideologies run very much on a discourse level and inform how an individual would approach government, economics, social justice, and freedom.An example of ideology is a belief in the free market economy, which requires limited state involvement in the business sphere. Skeptics of this ideology believe people should be allowed to satisfy their self-interests because doing so will yield the most economic gains (Parenti, 2011). This belief system is evident in policies that advocate for less regulation, taxation, and spending on public welfare since the free market can better address these problems.Ideology only dictates how people perceive the world around them. It offers a perspective from which societies’ structures are filtered, assessed, and often judged. Ideologies are often used to reduce the immense complexity of society into narratives that are more inclined to specific values (CrashCourse, 2015). For instance, if the person holds conservative values, they might perceive welfare programs as defying self-reliance, while a socialist might see them as applicable to decreasing injustice. Ideologies influence decision-making processes, policies, and discussions in all spheres of social life.
2. In the United States, conservative and liberal ideologies represent two major political stances. Conservative ideology presupposes that people should take personal responsibility for their choices, the government should be minimally involved in people’s and society’s affairs, and the free-market economy is the most effective. They also support national defense, anti-immigration sentiment, and property rights while vehemently opposing programs like universal healthcare for citizens, claiming it leads to bureaucracy (Parenti, 2011). On the other hand, liberals advocate for an enhanced participatory government in social responsibility and addressing the needs of citizens via health, learning, and welfare (CrashCourse, 2015). They highlight individual freedom, environmentalism, and equality; they consider health care a fundamental human right. Liberal values include equality and government regulation, while freedom and responsibility are conservative values.
3. Ideology, according to Althusser, is a structural complex that serves as an ideological state apparatus that controls the minds of a specific social class through ideas and representations. In his opinion, ideology is a tool that supports the dominance of the ruling class in a capitalist society by establishing norms that perpetuate it (PlasticPills, 2019). In Althusser’s view, ideology is implicit primarily, working through such agencies of repression as the immediate family, schools, and the mass media, which help to construct subjects who ‘know their place’ in the social order and how to behave accordingly. An example of Althusser’s ideology is the education system, which, according to him, is aimed at molding members of society to fit a particular mode of being and become productive units in a capitalist economy. They consider that, as schools instill respect for authority, compliance with rules, and concerning achievement within the established economic architecture, they act as ‘ideological state apparatuses.’ Thus, one can see that through such institutions, people imbibe the ideology necessary for a capitalist society, which occurs unconsciously.