The concept of ‘faction’ from what i understood is wealthy elite, a group of people who has the same interest but they are against the others benefial laws.

Federalist #10, James Madison explains that people have different talents and abilities. Because of this, some people get more money and property than others, which is why some people become rich while others stay poor. But this is far from reality in terms how humanity leaves the real system, look! We call NYC a concrete jungle ! In my opinion, I disagree with James Madison’s ideas in Federalist #10. Since he was a wealthy republican, he wanted to protect the elite and ensure that laws favored the rich, not the poor majority. He preferred a republican system over a direct democracy because he mistrusted democratic power, especially for those without property.

According to James Madison, the ‘first object’ of the US government is to protect private property. This doesn’t surprise me because protecting wealth was likely very important to their class. Today, while society has more democratic ways to represent everyone, I believe that political power still strongly protects large corporations and special interests.

I am not surprised that Federalist #10 does not support a pure democracy. James Madison, who became the fourth US president and helped create the Constitution, wanted to protect the wealth of the elite. The Constitution was made with rush, because rich groups, like landowners and company owners, had disagreements and were afraid of losing their money and property to the majority.

“A Constitution for the Few,” michael Parenti

1

The writers of the Constitution were wealthy elites, like merchants and landowners, who wanted to protect their commercial interests. George Washington wrote that this new government was needed to contain the threat of the people and limit their participation. On the other hand, struggling farmers and laborers, who were burdened by heavy debts and taxes, were completely excluded from this process.

2.

The social class structure was very different. As Michael Parenti explained in Chapter 2, “A Constitution for the Few,” the 1787 class structure ignored marginalized people, depriving them of power and the right to vote. Meanwhile, farmers, small freeholders, and laborers faced heavy taxes, low incomes, and high interest rates. This left them with heavy debts, foreclosures, and forced many into poorhouses.

On the other hand, there was a dominant, wealthy minority made up of creditors, merchants, planters, moneylenders, and land speculators. High property qualifications ensured that political power remained concentrated in this class.

Today, the class structure is different because changes to the Constitution have given voting rights to groups that could not vote before, such as women and black people. Also, the growth of the middle class allows for more social mobility than in 1787. Now, everyone can vote.

3.

In this second chapter, the section titled “Containing the Spread of Democracy” explains that the upper class was afraid of the majority. The chapter mentions that wealthy people were more focused on their money than on promoting a real democracy. They were afraid that public policies could threaten their wealth. Personal financial gain drove the political decisions of the time. For example, the quote “religious freedom is my immediate goal, but my long-range plan is to go into real estate” shows how they spoke about religion and ethics to the public, but their true priority was real estate. As the chapter mentions, their discussions aboutthat laws were very slowly to benefit the common people, but very fast to help the wealthy. The elite wanted to protect their personal wealth above all.

1

Which statistic on wealth inequality in the US (discussed on p. 29) made the biggest impression on you? Explain why?

I knew that Statistic before, it wasn’t surprising, the top 1% of the population is a millionaire, However, I did not know that they own between 40% and 50% of the nation’s total wealth, that such a small percentage of the population could own such a large portion of the nation’s wealth. I find this incredible, especially when thinking about the economic inequality it creates. It also makes me think about how our capitalist system has influenced the way our laws and society are managed. Sometimes it feels as if money has more influence over our laws and decisions than ethics and values. As someone who is part of the working class, I find that especially concerning because this level of economic inequality can affect the opportunities and power that people have in society.

2

What could be some of the implications of living in a society that has such huge wealth inequalities? Do you see this dynamic getting played out in everyday life in our society? How so? Example?

I think some of the implications of living in a society with such huge wealth inequality are that we can become dependent on millionaires and big companies. If one of their companies closes or decides to lay off workers, many people can lose their jobs, which can have a very negative impact on their lives, but not on the life of a billionaire or millionaire. This shows how much power a small group of people can have.

I do see it in articles or yeah in everyday life. For example, I sometimes see news about companies laying off 150 or even thousands of people. I also see situations where politicians have to make decisions in favor of wealthy individuals so they don’t have to pay as much in taxes. This makes me think about how economic power can influence political decisions.

Another example that comes to my mind is the way natural resources are used in poorer countries. Some countries have valuable resources such as oil, gold… minerals, and other natural resources, but the people living there still poor. Large companies can sometimes gain access to these resources at very low costs and then sell the products for much higher prices. In my home country, Colombia, we have laws that give free pass to Canadian companies to extract our natural resources in the Amazon Rainforest, or to Chinese companies in Chocó to mine gold. One time, these companies they even charged us because a group of terrorists stole from them while they were working on it, so they charge us because we didn’t protect their safety ! that’s crazy! Anyway, wealth inequality can create a situation where people and countries become economically dependent on those who have more wealth and power.

As Pierre Jalée explains in “How Capitalism Works,”

the difference between the formulas is from what I understand is that In the simple formula, you sell what you make to buy what you need. In contrast, in the capitalist M-C-M, the main difference is that products are bought to be sold at a higher price than what was paid. The capitalist does not make the product simply, because they have money, they buy the products and the work of others to resell them for more money to the customers and keep the profit, or surplus value. This profit comes from exploiting the workforce, which produces more value than what they receive in their pay. To increase absolute surplus value, the capitalist makes the workday longer. A very clear example today in 2026 is the debate about reducing the workweek from 5 to 4 days: people want to work fewer days, but the capitalist system resists because it does not want to lose production hours.

On the other hand, in relative surplus value, the capitalist gives the worker better machines so they can increase productivity and make the products faster. However, the capitalist does not reduce their time or pay them more; they have to finish the full shift to generate more profit for the owner and not for the worker.

Nowadays, most first-world and capitalist countries have a strong workforce because people are highly educated, with master’s degrees and PhDs, but struggle to have the physical workforce they need. What is interesting is that when they get this workforce from immigrants, for example, they still do not give them a good quality of life. Even so, these workers do not fight for their rights, and the capitalist keeps winning and making profits.

When Jalée writes about the transformation of money, I also thought that capitalism needs us to reproduce in large numbers. This creates a cycle where our housing, healthcare, and food are also controlled by these capitalist bosses, ensuring they never earn less.

Workers will never earn more even if they work more, surplus value, in this context, is the tool that the capitalist system manages carefully and smartly, controlling the valuable time of surplus labor.

An investor needs their money to double or triple, and they usually do this by investing in machinery, materials, and labor power. I find this dehumanizing because it treats a living, feeling human being as just another resource, trapped in the capitalist system since birth.

When a person grows up and can legally join a company or corporation, they work at least 8 hours, even though according to the author they cover their wage in 4 hours; the other 4 hours are pure profit for the company, and the worker gets nothing extra from it.

1. Two key concepts in this video are the means of production and labor. In your comment, explain how you understand the means of production and labor. Give an example of each.
   • A:/ Labor is mental and physical effort applied to production, which increases value. The means of production are the equipment, tools, and factories, while production generates profit.
2. Another important concept in understanding social class is value. Based on the ideas presented in Video 5.1, what is value?  What give “value” to value, what makes something valuable? 
   • A:/ According to the video, value is measured in time and labor. Some economists prefer to focus on the price of something. If making a product is a fast process, it means less labor is needed. Value is this measure for a product, and it depends on those two concepts.
3. How are labor and value related? What’s the relationship/connection between the two?
   • A:/ If it takes longer in terms of labor time, that increases its value. As mentioned in the video, labor is the source of value.
4. How do you understand the difference between labor and labor power? Hint: this is a key difference, give it your best shot based on what the video says about it, and your own ideas. We’ll clarify and develop it in our discussions, and in my video comments.
   • A:/ In the video, he explains that labor power is an ability or skill. For example, if you train workers, their products or services get more value. Labor is the actual work you do.
5. Surplus Value: what is it? Why is it important to know about, in our study of social classes? Think about an example of surplus value?Marx calls
   • A:/Karl Marx calls surplus value the extra value a worker creates. The profit from that extra value does not belong to the worker instead, it belongs to the company.

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 are institutions like police, military or courts that keep social order through physical force. and I think it’s repressive because its violent also mentally. like for example when law allows a police officer to stop a protest.

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

Ideological State Apparatuses are institutions like schools or political parties that through values or ethics, or ideas keep the order as the current law orders it. and I think it’s repressive too because it is not teaching its instead persuading in my opinion people who is usually not well educated or with not enough freedom.

3. Important: this question will appear on our exam: How are the Repressive and Ideological State Apparatuses different from each other? What is the difference between the two?

primarily on physical force, violence and the other one, the ideological Apparatus with , beliefs that are from my point of view based in theories or not well informed.

4. 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 school where girls are separated from boys, read the Bible, and are taught sewing instead of robotics. This is an example of Ideological State Apparatuses, where tradition rather than physical force, guiding individuals to adopt specific gender roles and societal norms as natural or expected.

1. Keeping in mind the material covered in this lesson, describe how you understand ideology in your own words.
Hint: One way to approach this is as follows
a) Describe what ideology is in a brief paragraph (in your own words).

a. From my perspective and reviewing all the material in this module, I understand that ideology is a structured set of political and social values used to understand an individual’s position in society. It is tied not only to what someone needs as a citizen regarding basic needs, but also to how they culturally live their life, who they support, and what rights they believe others deserve.

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

b. For example, a liberal person might go to a peaceful protest to support equal rights and freedom of speech for everyone. This shows how their ideology guides them to protect individual freedom and diversity in society.

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

c. Considering the capitalist system in which most people live today, I want to explain ideology from a political standpoint. In politics, ideology helps identify and categorize a person’s core values, showing where they stand on key decisions made in the country. It names the vision of a just society that you believe in. For example, if someone supports placing a higher tax percentage on corporations that make billions in order to fund public programs, they hold a liberal or social democratic ideology.

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.
Hint: try to identify key words (concepts) that play a big role in making someone consider themselves to be liberal or conservative. Then, explain in your own words what those keywords (concepts) mean.

2. Living as an immigrant in the United States for 15 years without achieving residency allowed me to deeply immerse myself in the laws of this country. It was very important for me to inform myself through media that would not misrepresent what conservative or liberal ideologies mean, while also taking into account the material from this module.

That is how I understood that the difference between conservative and liberal ideology is not small; it is wide. They hold opposite views on several topics that shape social, human, cultural, educational, and individual freedom aspects of life.

Liberal: Focuses on equality, social justice, and government intervention. it believes in protecting civil rights, and funding public programs (like healthcare and education) to help the working class and reduce inequality.

Conservative: Focuses on traditional values, capitalism. Conservatives generally believes that economic success comes from individual effort rather than government assistance and In the US, conservatives generally prefer to maintain Christian values in education.

The way I understand this wide difference is that in a capitalist system, 1% of the population determines the destiny of the other 99%. Therefore, if this 1% is conservative, they have the power to ideologically manipulate society. If the system were social democratic, each person’s and community’s ideology might become less vulnerable to that manipulation.

In short, conservatives differ from liberals in a capitalist system because they allow less freedom of thought for the working class, operating under the idea that if workers are not middle or upper-middle class, it is because they didn’t try hard enough.

3. How do you understand Althusser’s definition of ideology? Paraphrase it in your own words. Given an example. Hint: you may have to watch the second video again, and find the few places where Althusser’s position is presented.

I understand Althusser’s definition of Ideology as a system of ideas where, through daily practice, each person gives meaning to their existence. For example, through their family, church, or school, which corresponds to what the video explains as Ideological State Apparatuses. Through interpellation, the subject is recruited into dominant social norms, making them feel natural and obvious. It also points out that ideology exists in material behaviors, such as institutions and rituals.