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?

11 thoughts on “Discussion Board 4.2”

  1. Reading 4.3 distinguishes between owners and employees by focusing on the source of their income and the role of labor. Owners, or the capitalist class, earn most of their wealth from investments, profits, and the labor of others, while employees including factory workers, service workers, and even managers live primarily off wages and salaries. For example, a wealthy stockholder making money from corporate dividends is an owner, while a nurse or factory worker earning a paycheck is an employee. Adam Smith’s quote on page 28 reinforces this idea by stating that labor is the true source of value: the real worth of any product comes from the work put into producing it, not the money used in the process. Workers generate the wealth that owners profit from, which is why the concept of surplus value is central to understanding exploitation under capitalism.
    Reading 4.4 builds on this by arguing that class is more than an identity; it is a structural position defined by relations of dependence and power. Workers depend on capitalists for employment, while capitalists depend on workers to produce profits, creating a “close form of dependency” that shapes the decisions, strategies, and interests of both groups. For example, a factory worker relies on their job to survive, while the owner relies on that worker to keep production running efficiently. Because of this structural interdependence, workers have collective power, such as striking or organizing, to influence the capitalist system. Socialists argue that understanding class in this way is essential to addressing other forms of oppression, because the ability to challenge racial, gender, or environmental injustices is tied to challenging the concentrated power of capital.

  2. 1) Reading 4.3 gives a clear distinction between owners and employees. owners own their wealth from investments and profits. An example is a owner of a bakery shop who is investing in their own capitals and making business decisions. Employees provide the labor, and does all the task that the owner gives them. An example is a baker working bakery shop owner doing all the task for an hourly pay rate.

    2) Adam Smith’s quote on page 28 means that labor is a source of wealth. It is a source of value. all the services and value comes from the people producing it. Labor is needed in our lives but because of capitalism labor is not valued.

    3) Reading 4.4 emphasizes that class is not just an identity. The reading means that it is about the peoples relationship to the economic system.

    4) By Stating “class structures are built around a close form of dependency” the reading is basically saying that the social classes rely on each other of them to exist. An example of the dependency is economic and power.

  3. 1:- Reading 4.3 explains that the main distinction is about control of resources and labor.
    –> Owners (capitalists) control the means of production factories, businesses, or capital. They earn money primarily through ownership and profit. Example: the CEO of Amazon, or someone who owns a chain of restaurants.
    –> Employees (workers) don’t own productive resources and must sell their labor for wages. Example: an Amazon warehouse worker or a server at one of those restaurants.
    So, the key difference is that owners live off profits, while employees live off wages.

    2. Adam Smith quote (pg. 28)
    Adam Smith argues that labor is the real source of value in society. Everything we produce, buy, or use comes from human labor in some form. Without workers, no wealth can be created owners depend on employees, not the other way around. This challenges the idea that wealth comes just from owning property; instead, it highlights how labor is the foundation of all economic activity.

    3:- Main argument of Reading 4.4 (“class is NOT an identity”)
    The reading argues that class is not simply about how people feel or identify, but about the material relationships people are in. For example, someone might identify as middle class because of education or lifestyle, but if they rely on wages to survive, they are part of the working class. In other words, class is objective it comes from your relationship to production not just subjective identity. I think this is important because it avoids confusion: you can’t “choose” your class the way you might identify with a culture or community.

    4. “Class structures are built around a close form of dependency” (Reading 4.4)
    This means that different classes depend on each other, but in an unequal way. Owners need employees to work for them to make profit, and employees need owners for jobs and wages to survive. This dependency is “close” because both groups are locked into a relationship within capitalism neither can exist in the same way without the other.
    –> Example: In a hospital, doctors, nurses, and staff depend on the hospital corporation for their jobs, while the hospital owners depend on the staff’s labor to run the hospital and generate profit.

    1. This is a good example. Another example relates to yours is health insurance companies. Workers at these companies depend on the owners for wages, while the owners depend on the workers to bring in more clients, which means more profits.

  4. 1. Reading 4.3 explains that owners and employees differ mainly in how they earn their income. Owners, or the “owning class,” live mostly off property income such as stocks, bonds, real estate, or other investments. They do not have to rely directly on wages to survive. For example, a wealthy shareholder who collects dividends from Apple stock belongs to this group. On the other hand, employees live off wages, salaries, and fees that come from selling their labor. A teacher, a cashier at Walmart, or a nurse in a hospital would be examples of the employee class. The key distinction is whether one’s survival comes from ownership of wealth or from working for wages.

    2. The quote by Adam Smith emphasizes that labor is the true source of all value in society. Everything that is produced or consumed has labor behind it. At the same time, workers rarely receive the full fruits of their labor, since a portion of what they produce is taken as profit by owners. In other words, labor creates wealth, but the people doing the work often remain dependent on employers for survival. Smith’s point highlights both the centrality of labor in the economy and the unfairness of how it is rewarded.

    3. Reading 4.4 argues that class should not be understood as an identity, like race, gender, or religion. Instead, class is a structural relationship in society. Being “working class” is not about personal culture, clothing, or lifestyle, it’s about the economic position of having to sell your labor to survive. Similarly, being part of the owning class is about controlling wealth and resources. Class, therefore, is less about who we are as individuals and more about how we are positioned in relation to power, dependency, and exploitation in the economy.

    4. The argument that “class structures are built around a close form of dependency” means that workers and owners depend on each other, but not equally. Workers depend on owners for wages so they can pay rent, buy food, and survive. Owners depend on workers to create goods and services that generate profit. However, the power balance favors owners because they can more easily replace workers than workers can replace the source of their income. A good example is Amazon warehouse labor: workers rely on Amazon for their paycheck, while Amazon relies on them to move products. Yet Amazon has far greater power in the relationship, which shows how dependency in class structures is unequal.

  5. 1. The distinction the reading made was how the “owner class” gains wealth through buying labor from the working class, while the working class gains wages through the selling of their physical labor. An example of this can be how, in a car dealership, the sales associate is putting in the labor of selling the car and providing customer service, while the owner of the dealership earns his wealth from the sale of the car and doesn’t actually “work” for the sale to be completed.

    2. The way I understand Adam Smith’s quote is that he is saying that this is not a chicken-and-egg situation. To have a product to sell to the consumer, you first need the labor to produce a product. Capital is not how buildings are built in a literal sense; the physical labor to help bring the plans together is what builds and makes things. Labor is the seed.

    3. I think there is some nuance to this. Class can be an identity in some cases. While multiple different kinds of people can be within a given class, if we look at more homogeneous communities, class can be seen more as an identity. I also think class can be different depending on the demographic, and the way that demographic views class can be completely different from another.

    4. Class structures are closely dependent because being “wealthy” means that it requires you, whether directly or indirectly, to be exploitive of someone’s labor. You can’t have unearned wealth without someone else working for it. An example of this can be someone who invested in a company that has been quite profitable, but also uses unfair labor practices overseas to extract the most profit for this investor.

  6. 1) The distinction that reading 4.3 makes between owners and employees is that an owners wealth thrives off the labor of others, while employees survive off the wages or salaries they must physically put in the work for. An example of an owner can be a landlord who invested in a housing complex only to collect rent from their tenants. They don’t have to work for the money they receive; They just depend on their tenants to provide their portion every month. An example of an employee can be anyone from a sales advisor through a car dealership who depends on commission to bring in a higher salary to a factory worker who typically works very long hours in exchange for a wage

    2) Adam Smith’s quote about labor says that labor is the true source of value in society. Money may symbolize “value”; However, it is invaluable without the work people have put in to produce what eventually turns profitable.

    3) I believe that the main argument of this reading reflects the importance of knowing that class does not qualify as another identity because it isn’t a personality trait or characteristic but more so a structure of power that helps shape society. In a way, the rhetoric that class is an identity keeps us oppressed and enslaved to a system we are trying to defeat.

    4) Heidman’s argument that “class structures are built around a close form of dependency”, makes me think about how in society, we depend on each other somewhat unequally to obtain what we need- wealth. Workers depend on their job to provide a livable wage and benefits to keep surviving while owners depend on their workers to keep showing up, for a small fraction of the profit they’re making off their labor. If you look at Wendys, for example, they pay their employees minimum wage to operate their restaurants daily while the corporation itself brings in millions of dollars a year. The employees are dependent on the resources the corporation provides to make having a job there possible, but the corporation depends on their workers to show up everyday and give the best service and make the food properly so customers can return and spend their money there.

  7. 1. The Reading 4.3 provides a distinct separation between owners and employees. Owners are comparatively living on investments in stocks, rents, and property income, and employees live on wages and salaries (chapter 4). For example, a shareholder may make money when stocks are not working, whereas a cashier makes money on shifts.

    2. Adam Smith’s quote clarifies that labor produces the actual value of goods, and money is just the expression of the value. This inequality is evident in the YouTube video, where the top 1% of Americans are said to hold over 40% of the wealth in this country. This shows that the power of wealth of classes is still in the hands of a few.

    3. The reading “Class Rules Everything Around Me” claims that class is not an identity, but a dependency. This implies that it is not simply the designation of belonging to working or capitalist classes.

    4. According to the reading 4.4, the class structures are also constructed on an intimate dependency. This implies that workers are at the mercy of capitalists in terms of pay, and capitalists in terms of pay, and capitalists are at the mercy of workers to realize profit. The first is that capitalists need workers to create goods and services, and workers need employment to pay rent. This close bond is the reason why competition between the workers and the owners continues in society. It also shows how the workers’ power can be applied to overcome the capitalist power with the help of organizations.

    1. “Class is not an identity, but a dependency.” I agree with this because the owning and the working classes depend on each other. The owning class depends on the working class’s labor powers, in order to stay wealthy, while the working class depend on the owning class for jobs and wages to live an affordable life.

  8. 1. Reading 4.3 explains how owners are the people who control business, investments, etc. and make their money by what others produce. Employees are the ones who sell their labor to earn their wages. For example, an owner of a factory gains money from selling goods while the workers earn paychecks for making those goods.
    2. Adam Smith’s quote is saying that labor is the real source of great wealth. Due to everything we by of use comes from someone’s hard work. It can be building, farming, etc. It stresses about without labor there would be no products at all.
    3. Reading 4.4 says class is mot about what people call themselves but it’s about having the amount of work and money. All depends if someone owns a business or works for wages. I agree because people can say they’re middle class but don’t matter because it’s how they make their income.
    4. “Class structures are built around a close form of dependency”? Means workers and owners need each other but not equally. Workers depend on owners to hire them by giving them a job while owners needs workers to do the work for them so they can make more money. For example, in a restaurant the owner needs cooks and servers and the workers need the owner to keep the business from shutting down.

  9. 1. According Michale Parenti reading on capital and labor, distinction that makes between owners and employees, “they’re very rich families and individual who compose the owning class live mostly of investments, which includes stocks bonds, rents, mineral royalties, and other property incomes. Their employees live mostly of wages, salaries, and fees”. In other words, the owning class are mostly of wealthy people who gain their wealth from investments such as stocks and rental properties, for example, buying multiple real estate properties and earning income by renting them out. On the other hand, their employees are people who work for them earn money through wages per hour and salaries.

    2. Adam Smith, one of the founding theorists of capitalism, noted in 1776 that “labor … is alone the ultimate and real standard by which the value of all commodities can at all times and places be estimated and compared. It is their real price; money is their nominal price only.” Adam Smith pointed out that labor is the primary and real reason why wealth exists, because workers, the working clas, is an essential part of the economy and is the main reason most owners are successful.

    3. 3. My thoughts after reading the main argument of Reading 4.4 that class is NOT an identity, I agree with the idea that class is not an identity. Class should not define you based on your race or sexuality. I believe that everyone, regardless of race or sexuality, deserves equal opportunities. If class is considered an identity, then it should only reflect a person’s connection to the economy and their hard work, not their personal background or culture.

    4. 4. I understand that “class structures are built around a close form of dependency” because each class depends on the other to work. For example, the owning class depends on the working class to labor for them so that they could maintain and gain wealth, while the working class depends on their jobs provided by the owning class since that is their main way to earn a living.

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