1)I have seen the statistics of the top 1% of Americans is between 40 and 50% of the nations total wealth more combined wealth then 90% of the bottom. This shows how the 1% has the power in hand they run the Country more then anyone.

2) Living in a society with such high wealth inequalities can lead to a lot of negative factors it reduces social mobility increases poverty. This shows how different it is to be rich and poor the poor have to deal with more issues of how to make money and how the rich make more money and have the power in the World

1)Video 5.1 discusses the production and labor as a key concept. This means of production land and factories and also investment capital that is used to produce wealth. A few factories produce raw material that is used to produce cars.Labor is refered to humans effort used to produce stuff. The workers that work at the factory are labor workers.

2) Marx says that value is determined by the amount that’s needed socially and time required to produce a commodity. What gives value in labor is that you need people to work these kind of jobs to keep creating new stuff.

3)In Marx’s theory labor and value is connected. The value of a product is directly proportional to the amount of labor work that is needed to produce value. The more labor the more it takes to produce something with a higher value.

4)Labor and Labor power have differences the differences are that in Marx’s theory labor refers to the actual work done by workers while Labor power is the ability of workers to perform work. They key difference is that labor power is a potential while labor is the actualization of that potential.

5)Surplus value is the difference between the value of product by labor and the wages pid to labor. It is important because it represents the profit that capitalists expect from labor workers.

1)Do you notice any similarities in the way social class is discussed in readings 4.1 and 4.2? Do you notice any differences in the way these two readings DIFFERENTIATE between social classes?

In both readings is discussed by income education emphasizing subjective social class. Social classes go beyond financial measures they Include culture and demographic factors The Social Classes include a focus on how income and education shape social Classes and the fluidity between categories like working and middle class. The differences lie in the visual NYC subway map in Reading 4.2 which use geographic income data to distinguish class while 4.1 provides a more statistical and analytical approach.

2)Pick the station closest to where you live. Using the concepts from Reading 4.1, what social class tends to live in your neighborhood? Are you surprised (or not) by the answer? Do you feel it is an accurate representation of the people living in your neighborhood?

In my neighborhood Bensonhurst by reading 4.1 concept I would say my neighborhood is a middle working class.This goes with the reading emphasis on income and occupation as central to determining social class.

3)Based on Reading 4.2, do you notice a general pattern about social classes in NYC? 

Yes I notice a patter in social classes in NYC I would say that the upper classes are more likely in more quieter areas or even near by the train stations this would be good for upper class because they can have their stops by their home so when they go to work faster but the working middle class is farther away from the train stations due to them not being able to afford the houses or apartments near the subway stations. The map highlights how tightly social classes is linked to a geographic reflecting broader economic disparities across different parts of the city.

The difference between owners and employees is in the relationship of the business and the responsibilities. The owner owns the company which means they have investment risks and they have the power to make decisions about the company. While the employees are hired by the company to perform specific tasks for the company to make money when he does this they are also earning money from the company Employees do not have any power to make changes on the comapny. For example a company like Apple has investors who own a huge portion of the comapny they make decisons about the company then you have the workers who make the phones they have no power in the company at all other then making the phones.

Adam Smith’s quote”The division of labor occasions a proportionate increase or the productive powers of labor,” encapsulates his belief in the power of specialized labor to drive productivity and economic prosperity.

The classes should not be considered an identity or a challenge belief. IT distinguishes class as a social position from a personal or group sense of self and suggests that understanding class as a structural phenomenon allows for more effective political mobilization. People argue that class interacts significantly with other aspects of identity. In reading 4.4 it is argued that class structures are based on a “close form of dependency” which refers to the intrinsic reliance between different classes.

1)What is a Repressive State Apparatus? Why does Althusser call it “repressive”? Can we explain his choice of words here. Give an example.

Repressive state Apparatus is when the government uses force to keep people in line and to follow the rules. Althusser called it Repressive ideology because fear and violence is used to control the people.

2) Let’s do the same for the Ideological State Apparatuses. What are they, how do they seem to work? 

Ideology changes someone’s belief and shaping their morals and values those values. Institution include religion , media, culture, family structure. Children when they go to school. Adults when they go to church families with mixed background

3. Post an example of ideology. This could be a piece of writing, an image, video, pdf document, visual art, or music, clip from a movie. Next to your example, specify if this is an example of repressive or ideological apparatuses at work. I’ll start us of off by giving an example.

a) Describe what ideology is in a brief paragraph (in your own words).

Ideology its a belief to a person or group of persons which shapes and reflects understandings of the social and political world also Ideology helps us figure out rights from wrongs. Our government uses the same ideology the only thing that our government has different is punishment that leads to jail time

b) Give an example illustrating what you wrote in (a)

When you see someone who is arrested for the first time the judge will usually give that suspect a very light sentence it will either be a ticket or it will become a misdemeanor but some people. believe that if you give someone a sentence like that how will you know that he won’t do it again. The laws that are in spot for this is that if this person gets caught again his sentence will be a bigger sentence then the last time.

c) Write another paragraph (or two), explaining to your reader with additional details, how you understand ideology

ideology is very different people can take ideology as a lot of things for me I would say ideology is a belief for a group of people or person.

2) How do you understand the difference between conservative and liberal ideology in US politics? What seem to be the big differences, the dividing line? Given an example to backup your arguments.

I understand that conservative ideology in the US ideology is based of traditions and limited federal government then liberal ideology in the US politics is freedom of speech freedom of religion freedom of press and the separation of of church and state.

3) How do you understand Althusser’s definition of ideology? Paraphrase it in your own words. Given an example.

Althussers definition of ideology is maintaining social order, power dynamics.An example would be that schools don’t just teach academic subjects they also teach and talk about certain values that aligns with the rules of the classes