- What is the distinction that Reading 4.3 makes between owners and employees? Give an example of each.
- How do you understand the quote by Adam Smith on pg. 28? What is it saying about labor?
- What are your thoughts on the main argument of Reading 4.4 that class is NOT an identity?
- How do you understand the argument Reading 4.4. makes when stating that “class structures are built around a close form of dependency”? What is this close form of dependency, and can you think of an example?
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Caridad Rodriguez
Discussion 4.2
February 10, 2025
What is the distinction that Reading 4.3 makes between owners and employees? Give an example of each.
Answer: The distinction made between owners and employees is the amount of work they do vs the amount of money they make. Owners are responsible for giving work to the employees, while employees make their passive income. They find ways to get the most pay out for the least amount of pay towards the worker. While the worker is valued for their ability to produce more. People may view the owners as the producers but it’s really the employee who produces and they earn their living on wages and salaries
How do you understand the quote by Adam Smith on pg. 28? What is it saying about labor?
Answer: I understand the quote by Adam Smith to be saying that labor is of much more value than money. Sometimes we may see money as the prize but without the labor of the working class no one would be able to profit. How much work someone is willing to do and the quality of work someone is willing to do holds the real value.
3. What are your thoughts on the main argument of Reading 4.4 that class is NOT an identity?
Answer: I understand why some people may believe that class is a part of their identity. The late sociologist Erik Olin Wright said something that stood out to me “What you have determines what you have to do to get what you get” generational wealth is real and some people pride themselves on the fact that they have had to work their way up from nothing to even be apart of the “middle class” or “upper-middle class”. Some people have to work ten times harder than others because of certain opportunities they did not have growing up. The article also states “people who have similar levels of advantage or disadvantage could easily be imagined to form some common identity based on their shared situation”. This also stood out to me because it is human nature to want to bond over a shared experience and in that people tend to create an identity for themselves and bond together with people who have also made that experience a part of their identity.
4. How do you understand the argument Reading 4.4. makes when stating that “class structures are built around a close form of dependency”? What is this close form of dependency, and can you think of an example?
Answer: The article states that “class structures are built around a close form of dependency” meaning the upper class or the “owning class” depend on the working class to keep their companies in business and to keep revenue and passive income coming in. The working class are dependent on the owning class to keep them employed and pay them a livable wage to be able to pay their rent and feed their families.
Greetings Caridad,
I found your thoughts on the distinctions between owners and employees insightful! It’s interesting to see how we often overlook employees’ fundamental role in production. Your point about how owners may seem like the producers but rely heavily on the workforce resonates deeply. Regarding Adam Smith’s quote, I agree that labor is often undervalued compared to money. It reminds us that workers’ efforts and skills are the true backbone; without the workers, there would be no so-called capitalist.
1. Owners vs. Workers (Reading 4.3)
Owners (Capitalists): Own the means of production, profits, and economic resources. Example: Factory owner who profits from workers’ work.
Workers (Employees): Sell their labor for wages but not profits. Example: Factory worker who earns hourly wages but does not benefit from company profits.
2. Adam Smith’s Quote on Labor (Pg. 28)
Smith argues that labor creates wealth, but the owners benefit the most.
Labor creates value, but wages are low, and the owners get profits.
A sales clerk creates sales, but the company CEO earns much more despite doing less direct labor.
3. Class Is NOT an Identity (Reading 4.4)
Main argument: Class does not depend on individual identity or self-image but on one’s economic status (worker or owner).
As opposed to gender or race, class is an economic relationship of structure.
Example: A CEO and a minimum-wage employee might both qualify to be called “middle class,” but in actual economic power, they are light-years apart.
4. Class Structures and Dependency (Reading 4.4)
Dependency: Labor relies on capitalists for wages, and capitalists rely on labor in order to make a profit.
Example: A fast-food chain exists because of workers, yet workers exist because of the corporation for their pay. This creates an imbalanced power structure in which owners have more control over workers’ subsistence.
Final Thought
Class isn’t just a matter of pay—it’s a matter of who holds wealth and power. Workers and capitalists are in a dependent yet nonsymmetrical relationship, determining political and economic facts.