1.What grabbed my interest the most was the idea that the top 1% owns approximately 40% to 50% of the nation’s wealth, more than the bottom 90% combined. I knew there was wealth inequality in America, but I had no idea it was so large. It made me question the belief that anyone can become wealthy simply by working very hard. Hard effort can help individuals improve their lives, but those born into wealthy families already have advantages like real estate, investment connections, and financial security.

2. One of the most significant effects of wealth inequality is that people do not have similar opportunities, even if they work equally hard. People with money can typically afford better housing, education, healthcare, and legal services. However, lower income households may have to pick between paying rent, buying groceries, and dealing with medical costs. I notice this most in New York City, where people might work long hours and still struggle to afford a small apartment. At the same time, luxury buildings continue to be developed for the wealthy. To me, this shows that the wealth gap is far more than just how much money someone has.

1. M-C-M describes how capitalists preserve and grow their riches. The initial M represents the money that a capitalist begins with. The C indicates the items they buy, such as buildings, machines, raw materials, and labor power. The M represents the original money plus the profit. Capitalists get this extra revenue from employees’ labor. People generate sufficient value to cover their pay for a portion of the workday. This is referred to as essential work. However, they continue to work and generate more value after that. This additional work is known as excess labor, and the value it produces is known as surplus value.

1. The means of production is everything that is required to create or make a product except human labor. This would include machines, buildings, and raw materials. Labor is the time and effort that is put into a product that would include a human to make. An example of this would be in a bakery shop. The oven, stove, kitchen, and even the ingredients that are used would be considered all means of production. However, the person using these ingredients and packaging the product would be considered the labor.
2. Value is synced to the amount of labor that is needed to make something. This something that is produced becomes more valuable over time because of the amount of work and effort that was used to create it. However, it is also based on the labor time that society needs to produce a certain item. An example of this would be clothing. Cotton is a raw material that is commonly used in clothing. The time and effort that are spent on making the clothing make the product more valuable compared to the original raw material.
3. Labor and value are related because they work hand in hand with each other to be able to make a means of production. Labor is what creates value over time.
4. Labor is the work that is put in by a human that creates a product and gives it its value based on the amount of time spent over the creation of the product. Labor power is the ability that someone has to work. An example of this would be a nurse who works twelve-hour shifts. This would be considered labor because she is giving a hospital or a company her time, while her making sure a patient is stable by checking vitals and giving medication is the labor power.
5. Surplus value is the extra value that a worker creates that they do not receive in their original paycheck. This surplus value becomes a profit for a business owner. For example, a worker in a coffee shop makes and sells two hundred dollars worth of drinks but only receives eighty dollars as their paycheck. This extra value is what is called surplus value