1. The distinction reading 4.3 makes between owners and employees is their income, and what they live off of , as well as their social class status. An example of each would be that owners make more income than their employees do since they own several properties or businesses , employees live off their hard work and salary/wages and typically work to make a living meanwhile owners live off the money their employees make for them or from other properties or businesses owned.
2. Adam Smith’s quote on page 28 is emphasizing how the real value of any product stems from the work put into making it and not the money made off of it. This quote is saying that labor is the thing of most value because without it things wouldn’t be made to sell while money is just a price thrown on top the real value to an item is based off the labor put into making it.
3. The argument in 4.4 is that class isn’t an identity but more of a power dynamic relationship with dependency on one another. The working class depends on the owner class for jobs and to make their living while the owner class depends on the working class to keep their businesses running and to make them money.
4. I understand the argument made in 4.4 about class structures being built around a close form of dependency because every class needs the other to survive . The working class needs the higher class around them for jobs meanwhile without the working class the higher class would have to work the jobs that require more labor or harder work.

1. Ideology is a set of beliefs or values that influence how an individual makes decisions, interacts with society, and how someone might view and understand the world around them. Ideology can also influence people’s perspectives in many aspects especially politically. An example of ideology is how someone’s political beliefs or stance can influence their views on bigger issues like aid for people with lower incomes, higher taxation on the rich, the amount of government involvement. Liberals are all for aid for lower income groups, and higher taxation on the rich. Meanwhile, conservatives want to lower the amount the rich get taxed and get rid of aid to any lower income groups as they believe they don’t need it.

Using my understanding of ideology, I would describe it as a sort of lens in which people view the world around them that also helps them pick their stance on world issues, by deciding what’s more important to them and their values as a person. Different types of ideologies can show different perspectives on just one issue. This also leads to separating people into different groups specifically politically. For example, in “Michael Parenti’s “Democracy for the Few” on page 52 it states ” conservative ideology preaches the virtues of private initiative and self-reliance: rich and poor pretty much get what they deserve; people are poor not because of inadequate wages and lack of economic opportunity but because they are lazy, profligate, or incapable” while on the other hand on page 54 it describes liberal ideology as “many liberals see a need for improving public services and environmental protections; they support minimum wage laws, unemployment insurance, and other wage supports, along with Social Security, nutritional aid for needy children, occupational safety, and the like.” As you can see these two examples show two different political ideologies on the same issue.

2. I understand the difference between conservative and liberal ideology in US politics simply by seeing their names and what I already know about the meanings behind them. To conserve something means to either save or protect it. Conservatives prioritize tradition and trying to conserve it. Liberal is a word that is very similar to liberty which means the freedom to act and express yourself without any restraints which in this case would mean governmental restraint. Liberals prioritize social equality so that people of different race, religion, sexuality and social status groups can be free in the sense of being able to express themselves and have the same opportunities as everyone else. Some words or concepts that play a big role in making someone consider themselves either conservative or liberal would-be tradition, government regulation, self- reliance, and human services. Tradition is a way of think or doing something that has been used by a specific group of people/ society for a really long time. Politically this would mean instead of progressing we would just stay in our old ways. Government regulation is the process in which a government creates and enforces rules to control their certain behaviors or activities going on in the world. This typically has to do with health, safety, environmental, or public interest issues. Conservatives don’t believe the government should be as involved while liberals believe they should be. Self-reliance means to rely on one’s own resources instead of anybody else’s. Conservatives don’t believe in what they refer to as “handouts” for the lower-class group since they believe everyone is responsible for the social class they are in while liberals are supportive of any type of help from the government for anyone who is struggling. Human services refer to a field that aims its focus on improving the well-being of others especially those in need by providing them with aid and support like food, shelter, and even healthcare. These words/concepts helped me better my understanding of both ideologies due to the different views both political groups have on those ideas and whether they either support them or are completely against them.

1. Repressive State Apparatus is a form of control by using threats of violence. Examples of this include police, courts, and prisons. Althusser calls it a repressive state apparatus because of the way it functions to ensure people stay in line through means of violence. For example, the prison system works as a form of punishment for anyone that breaks the laws.

2. Ideological State Apparatus functions mainly by use of ideology instead of violence . Examples of this includes: school, church, our political system, media, and farms of entertainment. They work by teaching us discipline. For example, school teaches kids to follow a strict schedule, to submit to authority, and not to speak out of turn.

3. Repressive and ideological state apparatus’ are different from each other because repressive state apparatus’ is a form of punishment whereas ideological state is a form to shape people’s ideas and beliefs. The difference between the two is through the way they function. Repressive state apparatus relies on violence to maintain order while ideological state apparatus functions through socialization to reinforce dominant ideologies

4. An example of ideology instead music would be Imagine by John Lennon. I would say it is a form of ideological state apparatus.

https://youtu.be/Ts0XSyWpMnU?si=t1wEmQadiyyxPhfR