1. The class that wrote the constitution was the wealthy class, which includes landowners, merchants, slaveowners etc. The class that was excluded was the lower class which were propertyless, farmers, servants and even white males who did not own any big property. the differences between the two classes were pretty great. The wealthy class consisted of creditors and owners of large assets who played roles in the nation’s finances. The excluded class which is the lower class included debtors, farmers, and laborers who were dealing with heavy debt and were robbed of their basic rights like voting.
2. id say the social class structure of early United States society is different compared to today. During that time in 1787 not just anybody could vote. In some states propertyless merchants in towns could vote while in other states the freehold qualifications excluded a huge number of males. Today, in 2026 everyone has the right to vote regardless of economic status or demographics.
3. The framers feared democracy because they saw society as being split into two groups, one group being the wealthy and the other group being the opposite which is poor. They were afraid that a democracy would allow the poor to vote, cancel debts and threaten the property of the rich. this ultimately will go against everything the framers had put together.

1. this statistic that made the biggest impression on me was that the real income earned by the bottom 90% of Americans fell by 7% this stood out to me because it shows that while the wealth of the richest people were increasing and that the majority of people were actually losing income. I think this is surprising because that is basically all of the population. It shows how wealth and income can create an unbalance in society.
2. One implication of having a huge wealth gap is that the ones that are more wealthy have more opportunities and resources compared to the less wealthy. The reading shows us that the wealthy are able to increase their riches while poor people struggle to afford necessities. Another implication that can be made is that the wealthy  has more power over businesses and the economy which affects factors like prices, resources, or jobs.

1. The means of production is what you need to make any product. The means of production is when a product is privately owned by capitalists instead of laborers. Capitalists typically gain ownership through inheritance or through violence. the products are then sold in the market to make profit. An example could be a textile factory, workers use their time, resources, machines to make clothing but capitalists own the factory and make profit from the products. Labor is when workers use their time and resources to produce goods, they are the working class and work under capitalists in exchange for money. An example of labor could be workers spending hours working in a factory to produce goods or services.
2. Value is how much a product or service is worth. Some factors that determine somethings value is how useful it is, how much time it takes to make the product, or how bad people need it. An example of value is clothing, clothing is valuable because people need it for protection or style.
3. Labor and value are closely related. A products value is measured by how much labor it takes to make the product under regular circumstances. Labor is measured in time, hours and minutes. the more time it takes to make a product the more valuable it becomes.
4. Labor power is the ability to labor and increases the value of what you have. Labor power also applies to people only. For instance when you go to work you use your labor power for the day. While labor is the actual work you using your labor power. Labor power takes food, shelter and other basic necessities to sustain it for a regular work day. The big difference between the two is that labor power is the ability to work while labor is the actual physical work that you do.
5. Surplus value is value on top of the value it took you to get there. Capitalists uses this extra value as profit. Surplus value s important when studying social classes because it helps build a perspective on the relationship between capitalists and the working class. surplus value can be demonstrated when a worker is paid less then the products that they made. For example if a factory worker making 400 dollars worth of clothes but only receiving 150 dollars in wages. This is surplus value and that way capitalists can benefit from it.

1. MCM‘ shows how capitalist maintain and increase their wealth by using money to make more money. M is the money The capitalist starts with. the capitalist uses this money to buy commodities (C) such as buildings machines, materials, and labor power. These things are used in the production process to create products that can be sold. after the products are sold the capitalist receives M’ which is more money than they originally started with the capitalist can then put that money back into circulation and repeat the process. This allows them to continuously increase their capital and wealth.

1. in my view, ideology is a system of beliefs that people have about themselves society, politics, or the economy. It influences how people see the world and how they form their opinions about different issues. it allows us to create meaning behind social political and economic situations. And by creating meaning, it always allows us to have an answer as to why. For example, someone who follows a certain religion may have beliefs that influence how they view the world what they think is right or wrong and how they choose to live their life. Ideology helps us make a sense of the world around us. It can give people a way to understand certain situations form opinions about different topics. Ideology can also be influenced by things around us like our family, religion, culture, education, or just individual experiences that can alter the way we view things. People are allowed to have different ideologies and see issues completely different from each other.
2. With conservative ideology, people usually support a small government with more individual liberty, which means they want people to have more freedom to make their own choices with fewer government involvement. liberal ideology is more supportive with a government that’s involved, especially when it comes to minorities since minorities need a lot of additional support For example, this can include programs such as unemployment benefits , food assistance, or disability benefits, one of the biggest dividing lines between conservative ideology and liberal ideology is their views on the government. Conservatives are on the right while liberals are on the left. Conservatives tend to believe that government should have less Impact on people’s lives while liberals are opposite and think that they are more likely to strive if the government takes a bigger role in their lives by addressing social and economic problems. For instance, when it comes to taxes, conservatives support lower taxes because they believe people should keep more of their own money, and that the government should have less of a say in it, liberals fare more supported of higher taxes on wealthier people because they believe the government can use that money to help fund programs and services that provide people with assistance of necessities. This shows the different views of ideology between the conservative and the liberal.

3. To me Althussers belief is that ideology is something we learned from a young age and that it’s influenced by the environment and which we grew up in, as we get older things that surround us everyday like our family, religion, school, and even social media can all affect the way how we think and what we might believe in for example, if a child grows up in a conservative family, they also might grow up to have conservative views because they learned it from a adolescence. Another example could be in schools if textbooks or teachers are spreading liberal views. The students can take on those views and it could shape their ideology.

1. I would say a repressive state apparatus is a system that controls people by utilizing the threat of punishment or violence. This can include police, courts, and prisons. These systems make sure people follow the rules and are held accountable if they don’t. Althusser calls it “Repressive” because this state apparatus uses force or punishment to pressures people to follows rules through institutions. Repressive means to control others by force in order to make them submit.
2. An ideological state apparatus is a system that shapes peoples ways of thinking and strives to maintain the status quo by influencing how people perceive and behave. It can prevent change by teaching others certain values and beliefs for instance within, schools, family and mass media.
3. Repressive state apparatus controls people through force which can even be physical. While an ideological state apparatus controls people through beliefs and ideas. For example repressive state apparatus is applied when someone is getting arrested by the police for breaking a law. As for Ideological state apparatus, that could be applied when students ideas are changed due to being exposed to religious beliefs in school.
4. This is an example of ideological state apparatus because the advertisement is trying to influence the way people think about Burger Kings fries. By saying they have 40% less fat and 30% fewer calories, the ad makes people believe burger kings fries are the healthier and better choice than other fast food options. Its advertising to influence peoples beliefs and choices without exactly using force but, persuasion.