1. The biggest difference between an owner and an employee is that the owner independently owns the means of production, while the employee does not independently own the means of production, and must rely on selling his own labor to work for others to earn income. The owner of a small shop, even if he is not directly involved in exploitation, as long as he independently owns the means of production, he can be called the owner or petite bourgeoisie. A manager with an annual salary of one million, as long as he must sell his labor to earn income, he is still an employee.
2. Regarding that sentence, my understanding is that the value of labor is relatively constant, while the exchange value of commodities is indeed variable. A glass of water in the desert is cheaper than diamonds, because it takes more labor to obtain it, which is why labor is the real value.
3. To talk about this issue, we must first understand the definition of the two words class and identity. The first thing to emphasize is that class and stratum are not the same. For the definition of class, I quoted Lenin’s original words “large groups of people differing from each other by the place they occupy in a historically determined system of social production, by their relation (in most cases fixed and formulated in law) to the means of production, by their role in the social organization of labor, and, consequently, by the dimensions of the share of social wealth of which they dispose and the mode of acquiring it.” The division of classes is determined by the different positions and relationships that people have in a specific social and economic structure. Examples of one class versus another are slave owners and slaves, landlords and serfs, capitalists and employees. Next is the definition of identity I found-Identity is the qualities, beliefs, personality, looks, and/or expressions that make a person (self-identity as emphasized in psychology[1]) or group ([[collective identity ] no] as pre-eminent in sociology). If identity is how a person or a group perceives oneself, then there is no doubt that class is an identity
4. People of the same class have the same things in common and the same claims of interest. This is what the author said “class structures are built around a close form of dependency”. An example is what the author said “This interdependence means that to be a worker is to always and everywhere be in a position of having your interests at least threatened by the capitalist that employs you. But it also means that workers everywhere have the potential power to force their employers to the table by threatening their ability to remain capitalists”。

1. From a civilian or humanitarian perspective, it is indeed a big mistake for the United States to have so many prisoners. But for the interests of the ruling class, I really can’t think of any harm to them. From the point of interest, drug addicts or most prisoners will not give the country much tax before being imprisoned, and they may cause security problems. On the other hand, they do not have the ability or will to fight against the state apparatus, imprisoning them does not need to pay any price. Reduce social instability factors, obtain cheap labor, and obtain economic benefits. What reason does the capitalist class have to worry about too many prisoners of this type?
2. In layman’s terms, I have never seen the sons of big capitalists or parliamentarians go to jail for drugs, regardless of their race.
3. Prison and penalty system are common in the world, but large-scale construction of privatized prisons and a large number of detention of the bottom of society. The United States does have its unparalleled unique insights in controlling class movement and alleviating class contradictions.

1. Everyone has their own reasons for doing anything, and for politicians or normal people, they should give others a reasonable reason when doing things or satisfying their self-interest, at least it shouldn’t sound like a violation. For politicians, even if they subjectively exclude other races, they should find a good reason, such as apartheid because of law and order. For example, the reason for the invasion of Iraq should be that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction, not Because of interest.

2. The economic base determines the superstructure. As far as upper-level politics is concerned, inciting racial opposition and creating racial conflicts are not only personal emotions or subjective preferences. More importantly, small conflicts can be used to cover up larger conflicts. Racial conflicts cannot be reconciled on an individual level, but they can be reconciled on a macro level. Class contradictions can be reconciled on an individual level, but they cannot be reconciled on a macro level. Was the Nazi Anti-semitic just because of their subjective emotional preferences? I think it’s more because it can release domestic pressure and cover up class contradictions.

I don’t know much about Althusser, but according to materialist dialectics, repressive can also be understood as violence. The state is the product and manifestation of irreconcilable class contradictions, and a violent tool for one class to rule another. The state apparatus is an organization that can guarantee the continued operation of this kind of rule, and it must protect national sovereignty externally, such as the military. To maintain the orderly development of the country internally, such as the government, public prosecutors, police, etc. The so-called “repressive” means that these machines have coercive power authorized by national laws.

What I understand as ideological state apparatuses is actually the reaction of the superstructure on the economic base. Unlike repressive state apparatuses, ideological state apparatuses do not rely on violence. The ideological state apparatus is a social institution that transmits ideology in schools, education, families, political systems, and mass media. It is a frequently used means of state control and a key point for maintaining state power.

Many people, even university professors, when they hear “ideological indoctrination”, exclaim that this is “animal farm”, which is very naive. Ideology is everywhere and is often imposed on most people without people knowing it. Contrary to the perception of most people, American society and education are full of ideological indoctrination. Many people discuss politics all day long, but they neither know “what is politics” or how to solve political problems. Many of the reasons why they accept a certain point of view come from schools and the media. This is a manifestation of ideological state apparatuses. As Althusser said, if a country wants to maintain the stability of its own political power, it will inevitably control the country’s mainstream ideology, and the ideological state machine that occupies a dominant position in a mature capitalist society is education. A typical example should be the American middle school social science curriculum. The main point of the curriculum is not to solve the core and cultivate independent thinking ability, but to create stereotypes. For example, when it comes to communism, it instills the impression of terror and dictatorship in students. This behavior is well understood. The vast majority of people in society do not have the ability to take independent self-examination. As the final stage of their complete education, middle school is the best time to instill ideology. Rather than allowing other various viewpoints to cause chaos in the ideological field, it is better to directly construct a unified ideology that is conducive to national stability and government management. The most superb indoctrination of American ideology is that it allows the educated to naturally define the views of other ideologies as evil or not having the ability to think independently. This behavior or impression is difficult to change and will be considered reasonable. For example, I heard about Hong Kong’s one country, two systems. They often think that the two systems are democracy and dictatorship. But in fact, the two systems are capitalism and communism, and British colonial residents do not have the right to vote. The daily infusion of ideology makes people without independent thinking feel that the information that people who hold different opinions from them is false and not capable of independent thinking. The ultimate of Ideological State Apparatuses is not 1984 but “Brave New World”. Although prisoners have no personal freedom, they have free will because they know they are imprisoned. People living in a prison built by the glass will think that the prison is outside the glass. Although they think they are free, they will forever lose their free will.

4. I think everyone is no stranger to this song composed during the Paris Commune Movement.

“Workers of the world, unite!” (The Communist Manifesto) “The Internationale unites the human race.” (The International)

The core of ideology is the ability to mobilize the people. The proletariat may not know what surplus value is, and may not have studied the theory of exploitation. But as long as they combine their own situation when they hear these two sentences, they can quickly mobilize.