1. The statistic about wealth inequality in the US that made the biggest impression on me was that the top 1 percent own between 40 and 50 percent of the nation’s total wealth. This statistic surprised me because the richest people of this nation have more power over us than I thought. It is crazy to think about because we barely hear about who the top 1 percent is since they’re usually very private. But yet they control so many factors of our lives, entire workforces can be laid off from their job if these people say so and that seems like too much power for an individual. This immense inequality shows how capitalisms is used to exploit lower classes for profit and the benefit of the higher classes. It is also known that is it harder for us today to move out of our social class compared to our previous generation.
2. Some implications of living in a society that has huge wealth inequalities is access to healthcare. People without money may not be able to afford the surgeries or medicine they need but yet rich people are some of the healthiest people in this country. Another implication of this is labor itself, lets say a big corporations buys out a company and merges, the big corporation may reduce its workforce as a financial strategy. This then causes thousands of people to lose their jobs, looking for work else where, yet the big corporation eventually flips a profit for making these peoples lives harder. I do not see this dynamic being played out in our society because we live in a capitalist society, where we are exploited for our labor for the sake of profit.

A capitalist remains wealthy by extorting the surplus value of labor power out of its workers. They remain wealthy this way because we are only supposed to work 4 hours in a day, but those 4 of labor time are not profitable for a enterprise. Therefore, we work beyond our labor time which is usually 8 hours, in order for the enterprise to turn a profit. The formula M-C-M’ is the general formula of capital, it stands for Money-Commodity-Money (at the end of the transaction). This formula indicates when a capitalist is using money for a commodity expecting to get a profit out of it. The value of a commodity is determined by the amount of social labor inherent in it. The capitalist turns a profit by using excessive labor power in order to produce a good.

1. Two concepts presented in the video are labor and means of production. Labor refers to the time and effort that it takes to produce something. Labor is measured in time because we are exchanging our time for money. For example, you go in to work a 8 hour shift expecting to get paid for that day, you are sacrificing time out of your day in exchange for payment. Means of production are the resources needed in order to produce something. For example, a new company might need to build a facility and hire workers in order to get their business running.
2. Value is the amount of labor it takes to produce something. The value of said product is based on how long the product took to be made, usually under normal conditions, the longer a product takes to be made, the more valuable it is. Also the rarity of the product can determine its value as well. 
3. Labor and value are related because the longer it takes to make something (the more labor intensive that it is) then the value will be higher. Things that are harder to acquire usually hold more value than products that are easy to make. 
4. The difference between labor and labor power to my understanding is that labor refers to the work that an individual does in order to produce something. Labor can be measured in time since an individual trades their time for payment. Labor power is the time and resources it takes to produce a certain product. This is different from labor because labor power measures the capacity at which a group of workers may work at.
5. Surplus Value is essentially the profit that your boss is making off of you. Surplus Value refers to the extra amount of labor that you are putting in at a job. An example of this could be working mandatory overtime at a warehouse job.

1. A Repressive State Apparatus is a way to rule people over fear. It is a tool of the government in which they enforce social control through violence. They may use police institutions, the military, and prisons in order to enforce social control. The fear of being punished is what keeps people under control. Althusser calls it “repressive” because this violence forces a limit on critical thinking for individuals and this apparatus serves to maintain a dominant power.

2. Ideological State Apparatuses are shaped to make people willingly conform to social order. It does not use fear, it uses education, media and family life in order to enforce social status and ideas. Ideological State Apparatuses work by putting students in civic courses in school where they learn about political views like liberty and equality. From that point individuals will take a standpoint whether they are liberal or conservative. Therefore individuals learn how to shape their own beliefs on how they will conform to social order.

3. Repressive and Ideological State apparatuses are different from each other because repressive state apparatuses are forced upon the individual and ideological state apparatuses allow individuals to willingly conform to society. This is because Repressive State Apparatuses act on violence and fear, they want to punish individuals for not following the social order a certain way. On the other hand, Ideological State Apparatuses allow individuals to have their own ideas and make their own decisions. This is a freedom that is not available when a nation is ruled with repressive actions. Repressive State Apparatuses can be mostly seen in communist states, or under a unified government. Ideological State Apparatuses can be mostly seen as multiple parties, usually diverse and different from one and other. ISA’s are usually a more fair society than RSA’s.

4. This image represents an example of an ideological apparatus, it shows a classroom where students are taught to be obedient. Which is an ideology of discipline. 

1. Ideology can be used in negative ways as well, since it reflects the interests of the ruling class. Ideology gives the reason as to why the status quo of the ruling government should not be changed. Ideologies can tend to create division within societies, since the ruling government would only want to benefit themselves and people of the higher classes. For example, state-run economies have led to lack of innovation and poverty since these economies are associated with communism. These effects are due to economic ideologies that are applied without any flexibility or fairness for the people of their nation. Ideology can be used in negative ways as well, since it reflects the interests of the ruling class. Ideology gives the reason as to why the status quo of the ruling government should not be changed. Ideologies can tend to create division within societies, since the ruling government would only want to benefit themselves and people of the higher classes. For example, state-run economies have led to lack of innovation and poverty since these economies are associated with communism. These effects are due to economic ideologies that are applied without any flexibility or fairness for the people of their nation. 
   
2. The difference between conservatives and liberals in politics is that conservatives believe that large governments pose a threat to individual liberty. They also don’t see any roles for the government in our personal lives. Conservatives prefer a smaller government and believe in lower taxes. Liberals don’t see any roles for the government in our personal lives, they believe that the government can help solve problems. Therefore liberals prefer to be run by a bigger government and will abide by their regulations and rules. The key differences between conservatives and liberals is that conservatives value liberty, and liberals value equality.

3. Althusser’s definition of ideology is that ideology reflects the interests of the ruling class, people are willing to accept worse living conditions out of fear. These are called repressive state apparatuses. These can be seen in the form of police officers enforcing obedience. There are also influences that push ideology’s onto us at an early age, such as the media, schools, family and political socialization. These influences are called ideological state apparatuses, they are what shape our beliefs and values within our societies.