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Amir Khan Discussion 6-2

1. What concept that we have already discussed does “faction” remind you of?

The concept of a “faction” strongly reminds us of social classes or competing interest groups—specifically the divide between the rich “haves” and the poor “have-nots” that Beard and Parenti examined. Madison defines a faction as any group of citizens, whether a majority or a minority, driven by a shared impulse or interest that goes against the rights of others or the good of the community. As discussed in earlier readings, Madison explicitly identified the most common and lasting cause of factions as the “various and unequal distribution of property,” dividing society into those with wealth and those without. Today, this concept also brings to mind political parties, labor unions, and wealthy corporate lobbying groups that push for their own group’s economic benefits.

2. According to Federalist #10 (written by James Madison), what is the source of wealth (private property)? What factor explains why some people get to possess wealth by owning private property, and others don’t (thus remaining poor)? 

According to Federalist No. 10, the ultimate source of wealth and private property is the natural diversity of human “faculties”. The word “faculties” here refers to people’s natural abilities, talents, intelligence, skills, and industry. Madison argues that people are born with different, unequal talents for earning and acquiring property. In his view, those who possess greater drive, business sense, or natural ability naturally end up rich and own property, while those with fewer or different abilities end up with less and remain poor. This shows that the framers viewed class inequality not as an unfair social problem, but as the natural result of inborn differences in human talent.

3. Do you agree with this explanation of wealth and poverty?

I don’t agree with Madison’s explanation because it ignores how wealth and poverty are actually created and passed down. While personal effort and individual skills certainly matter, Parenti’s reading shows that early American wealth came overwhelmingly from inherited privilege, massive royal land grants given to a few well-connected families, high-interest lending, and the exploitation of enslaved African Americans and indentured servants. Poverty was not caused by a personal lack of talent or laziness; it was caused by crushing debt, high taxes, land speculation, and an economic system that barred most working people from having any legal or political leverage. Madison’s view serves to justify economic inequality by pretending it is purely natural, when in reality it was reinforced by rules designed to protect the rich.

4. What is the core mission (“first object”) of the US government? Does this surprise you, does it sound different from what our society today seems to suggest the core mission of the government is? Explain.


According to Madison, the “first object of government” is the protection of these different and unequal faculties of acquiring property. In simple terms, he believes the core job of the government is to safeguard the right of people to get rich and protect their unequal amounts of wealth from being taken away. This is surprising and sounds very different from what people are taught today. Modern society generally claims that the primary purpose of government is to defend democracy, ensure equality of opportunity, protect basic human rights, and promote the general welfare of all citizens. Hearing that the government was created first and foremost to protect the unequal wealth of the propertied class from the demands of the poor turns the conventional view of American democracy on its head.

5. Given the discussion in questions 1-4, are you surprised that Federalist #10 is not in favor of democracy, and supports a Republican (representative) form of government? Why would the author dislike a (pure) democratic form of government? 

It’s not at all surprising that Federalist No. 10 rejects pure democracy and favors a republic. In a pure democracy, every citizen votes directly, meaning the majority rules. Because the poor and propertyless working class always form the majority of the population, a pure democracy would give that lower class the power to outvote the wealthy minority. Madison feared that a direct democracy would allow this poorer majority to pursue what he called dangerous projects such as canceling debts, printing cheap money, or redistributing land and wealth. Madison supported a representative republic because it filters decisions through a small, elite group of elected leaders (“men of substance”) and covers a large territory, making it far harder for the laboring majority to organize and challenge the wealth of the ruling class.

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Amir Khan – Discussion 6-1

1. Based on the arguments presented in Readings 6.1 and 6.2, which social class wrote the Constitution, and which class was excluded and not allowed to participate in this process? In your comment, make sure you clearly specify the difference between the two classes by giving examples from the readings

The U.S. Constitution was written by an elite, wealthy upper class made up of large landowners, southern slaveholders, merchants, and creditors. In contrast, the vast majority of ordinary people were completely excluded from the process. This excluded group included enslaved African Americans, Native Americans, indentured servants, women, and poor white men without property, who together made up about 90 percent of the adult population. The economic divide between the two groups was sharp: while the framers held significant investments, held government debt, and loaned money, the excluded working class consisted largely of struggling small farmers, urban laborers, and debtors who faced steep taxes, heavy rents, and the risk of debtor’s prison or property seizure.

2. Would say that the social class structure of early United States society, was the same as ours today, or different? Explain.

While early American society shared a similar level of severe wealth concentration with the United States today, its fundamental class structure was different. Today, legal barriers based on property ownership, race, and gender have been removed, meaning all adult citizens formally have the right to vote. In the late 1700s, political power was legally tied directly to wealth and property. Furthermore, early America’s economy was heavily built upon explicit institutions of forced labor like chattel slavery and indentured servitude, whereas the modern economy relies primarily on wage and salaried work

3. Why were the people who wrote the Constitution so afraid of democracy? Hint: think about how to answer this question by discussing it in terms of social classes. 

The framers feared democracy because they equated it with rule by the propertyless majority, which they believed would directly threaten their wealth and property rights. As James Madison noted, the fundamental division in society was between those who owned property and those who did not, and the framers worried that giving ordinary citizens equal voting power would lead to “leveling impulses” like canceling debts, redistributing land, or printing cheap paper money. Events like Shays’s Rebellion—where struggling debtor farmers took up arms to stop home foreclosures—deeply alarmed the wealthy delegates. To protect their class interests, they deliberately designed the new government with several structural firewalls against direct democracy, including an unelected Supreme Court, a Senate initially chosen by state legislatures, and an Electoral College to limit the direct influence of the public.

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Discussion Board 4-2 – Amir Khan

1.

The distinction between owners and employees is explained by those who own the wealth of society and live off investments versus those who must work for a living. Owners generate income from the labor of other people through property, stocks, bonds, rents, and business profits (unearned income). Employees live off wages, salaries, and fees that represent only a portion of the value they produce.

Examples

Owner : A major shareholder of a large corporation, or the owner of a publishing company who collects profits without performing day to day labor of creating goods.

Employee: A factory worker, nurse, editor, anyone who must show up and exchange their time and effort for a paycheck

2.

Adam Smith’s quote argues that human labor is the true source of all economic value. Money is just a nominal price tag, whereas the actual value of a commodity comes from the physical and mental work required to make it. For instance, raw timber has little market value on its own until loggers cut it down, factory workers process it into furniture, and truckers deliver it to a store

3.

I believe while people can feel a cultural identity around their job or career path, class primarily is an objective, not ethos of what identity is. Identity is what makes us who we are, where we come from and how we spend our time. Treating class purely as an identity reduces it to personal perceptions or lifestyle choices. In reality, class is a structural position that dictates what a person owns, what they must do to survive, and where their leverage lies in society

4.

“Class Structures Are Built Around a Close Form of Dependency”. My understanding of this quote is unlike demographic identities where one person’s status does not rely on a daily economic interaction with someone else, class positions only exist in relation to each other. A worker cannot earn a living without selling their labor to an employer, and a business owner cannot generate profit without hiring workers to produce goods or services

Example

In a hospital or medical lab, phlebotomists and lab staff depend on the healthcare corporation for an hourly wage and healthcare coverage, while the executive leadership and shareholders completely depend on the staff’s daily processing of patient samples to generate clinic revenue. If workers collectively strike, the owner’s revenue stops immediately, revealing how deeply dependent the owner is on their labor

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Discussion 4-1 – Amir Khan

Response to Option 2

Based on the reading, the area surrounding 36th Avenue represents working class to solid middle class community, with an increasingly noticeable upper middle-class presence. It is completely unsurprising that the community falls under these tiers. Astoria historically has been an immigrant and blue collar stronghold, with heavy Greek influence. There are pockets in Astoria that feel like Morocco, Brazil, Bangladesh, Greece, and so much more. With it’s close proximity to Manhattan, it makes sense the influence of the upper middle class has brought. Things like bike lanes, visual MTA station improvements (NOT service), and excess of coffee shop directly correlate to the social class that makes up the 36th Avenue train station in Astoria.

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Discussion 3-2 Amir Khan

What is a Repressive State Apparatus?

A repressive state apparatus (RSA) is the state mechanisms that enforces social order, protects ruling class interests, and suppresses dissent through coercion, violence, or threats to personal wellbeing. Althusser uses the word repressive purposely, because this apparatus operates by physically containing, restraining and punishing individuals who violate established order. It doesn’t rely on convincing the individual to agree, it forces you to comply whether you agree or not. Examples include the police, military, court systems, and prisons.

What is an Ideological State Apparatus?

Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) are the institutions that maintain social order and reproduce the conditions being broadcast through ideology, cultural values and socialization. Whereas the RSAs are political in nature serving the government, ISAs serve in a more private or civil sphere. Some examples are education, religion, family dynamics and the media. ISAs function primarily on interpellation. They provide values and identities so that people internalize the rules voluntarily. Rather than being forced to comply, people are more obedient because they believe they are acting on free will, rather than coercion.

Differences between RSAs and ISAs

We can explore a few different criterias in order to identify the difference between the two apparatuses.

Primary Mechanism

-RSAs operate primarily by violence, force and legal coercion

-ISAs operate by ideology and consent. Physical coercion is present however it is not primary, and often does not come with violence as a punishment

Unity

-RSAs identify under a single unified often state controlled apparatus

-ISAs have multiple decentralized institutions spread across society

Enforcement Style

-RSAs rely on external compliance, forcing your body to comply through punitive consequences

-ISAs shape internal beliefs, forcing individuals to use their conscience to govern ourselves voluntarily.

Example of Ideology

This apparatus type is an ISA. It operates under the Cultural ISA. It calls upon patriotism to enlist into the Army, giving pride and sense of self to protect and serve the country.

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What is Ideology?

Amir Khan

Ideology is the map through which we make sense of the social and political world. It’s not just individual opinion, it’s a coherent shared cluster of beliefs and values about how society should be organized. Ideology tells us what is normal and fair, while quietly defining what is wrong.

An example of ideology that comes to mind is the concept of the “American Dream”. This ideology can be interpreted in different ways. One one hand, it can be interpreted that success is defined by how hard you work, while conversely identifying people struggling as “not working hard enough”. This opens the door for poverty being viewed as laziness rather than systemic barriers.

My definition of ideology is the way in which we present ourself to society, and either adhere or abstain from social norms. The United States is, at its truest form, a place for multiple ideologies to mesh and transform into the greater culture. You can have places like Queens NY, which each street can have a different way of thinking. The ideology of freedom is what draws so many here, and with the current administration infringing on this ideology of freedom, it is ever important to stay true to our countries original principles. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.

Conservative vs Liberal Ideologies

There is a fundamental dividing line between American politics, and that is conservatism and liberalism. The differences center around the relationship of individual and government, as well as aspects of life and economy.

Conservatism centers around tradition, individual responsibilities, and limitations on government. Tradition reflects a belief in respecting established cultural norms and religious heritage. This can cause problems because America claims to be free for all, however conservatives constantly apply Christian values to policies and politics. Limitations on government and their involvement in laws at the state level are believed to do more harm than good.

Liberalism centers around equality, and progressivism. Equality and social justice are at the forefront of what being a liberal is, pushing the ideology that systemic barriers prevent people from achieving basic well being. They also believe in an active government, which can cause problems due to higher government spending an in turn, the tax payer footing the bill for something they don’t necessarily believe in.

The dividibg line between both parties comes down to healthcare. Healthcare is a very broad term, but something specific we can tackle in terms of breaking down the difference in ideologies. Things like abortion care, and healthcare for all once explored, can show the difference between the parties. Conversatives argue that abortion is murder, based on the traditional Christian/religious values, while liberals argue that it is up to the individual and doctor to decide what is right for the patient. Liberals argue that healthcare for all, regardless of immigration status and ability to pay, is a right that the government should fund and protect. This is just one example we can explore with key arguments on both sides.

Althussers Understanding of Ideology

Louis Althussers argued that ideology is not a set of abstract ideas in our heads, it is defined as our imaginary relationship to real conditions of existence. Society constructs an imaginary picture of who we are, where we for and we live out that picture through routine behaviors within society. Althusser calls them Ideological State Apparatuses. These ISA’s are schools, churches, media and family. Through a process called interpellation, these institutions call upon society to fit into specific subjects like “A good student”, “A hard worker”, or “A law abiding citizen”. We can use the pledge of allegiance as an example. By taking part in something like this every day at school, you do not just believe in patriotism, it is practiced in action to integrate in our society here in the United States. This ritual gives a harmonious belonging into a unified nation, regardless of the turmoil we experience and the infighting in politics.