1. What is the distinction that Reading 4.3 makes between owners and employees? Give an example of each.

The main difference between owners and employees is their forms of income in which the owners live off of investments that include stocks, bonds, rents, etc and the employees strictly live off their wages and salary. An example of an owner is Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, who heavily invested his funds into the tech world and became one of the richest people in the world. An example of an employee is quite literally anybody in the working class who isn’t in the investment markets or sprouting into the markets of online money or just simply someone who relies on their job for income. 

2. How do you understand the quote by Adam Smith on pg. 28? What is it saying about labor?

From my understanding, the quote by Adam Smith explains that labor is the actual value of any product even though money shows the cost, labor shows the value. This quote states that something’s worth is determined by the labor put to work on it and not necessarily the price. 

3. What are your thoughts on the main argument of Reading 4.4 that class is NOT an identity?

I understand where the socialists are coming from when they say that class is not an identity because they are just trying to break down the societal hierarchy of capitalistic views of class. The socialists believe that the capitalists control the economic system and make inequalities for the working class therefore if they break that down they may have a chance of improving the lives of the working class.  

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?

I agree with the argument, that “class structures are built around a close form of dependency” because the working class heavily relies on the capitalist class for employment while the capitalists rely on the labor from the working class in order to make their money. An example of this could be Jeff Bezos and Amazon because he relies on the workers to keep the company running smoothly and the workers rely on him to pay them. It’s a typical boss-and-employee dynamic. The boss relies on the employee to do the work so that the company stays strong and the employee needs their money.

1. A Repressive State Apparatus (RSA) includes institutions that maintain control by enforcing rules and ensuring people adhere to the dominant ideologies in society. Althusser calls them “repressive” because they play a key role in keeping societal order. An example could be a school principal making sure all students follow the school rules and behave properly. The principal helps maintain order and ensures everyone follows the guidelines set by the school. It’s like a system that keeps things in check and running smoothly. 

2. Sure! Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) are like different parts of society that shape how we think and act without us really noticing. They include things like schools, churches, TV, and even our families. These places teach us what’s “normal” and what to believe in. 

3. Repressive State Apparatuses and Ideological State Apparatuses are both ways society keeps things in order, but they do it differently. Repressive State Apparatuses, like the police or military, use force or the threat of force to make sure people follow the rules. They can arrest you or use physical power to keep control. Ideological State Apparatuses, on the other hand, work through ideas and culture. They include things like schools, media, churches, and families. These institutions shape how we think and what we believe is normal. Instead of using force, they influence our beliefs and values so that we follow the rules on our own.

4.

1.  Ideology is like a set of beliefs or ideas that people use to make sense of the world and decide how society should be run. It includes things like political and economic theories that influence how we think about government, laws, and social issues. For example, Liberals think the government should help people a lot, However, Conservatives believe that the government should stay out of people’s lives more often and let people take care of themselves. The excerpt “Democracy for the Few” by the author Michael Parenti helped me understand the differences in ideology between all the political parties because he goes into detail explaining them more specifically conservatives. For example, “Conservatives blame many of our troubles on what billionaire Steve Forbes called the“arrogance, insularity, the government-knows-best mentality” in Washington, DC.” This quote helped me understand that conservatives truly dislike a huge party having control over us. 

2. Conservatives believe in smaller governments and want them to stay out of people’s lives as much as possible therefore they just want more freedom. Liberals are the complete opposite and believe the government should definitely be bigger and more hands on therefore they believe in equality for all. An example that differentiates the two parts could be that liberals heavily believe in everyone having access to healthcare and conservatives heavily believe that taxes should be lower because they believe people should keep more of their own money instead of giving it away even if it’s back to the country. 

3. Althusser thought that ideology was like a set of ideas that shape how we see the world. These ideas aren’t just in our heads; they come from places like schools, churches, and the media. These places make certain ideas seem normal so that people accept them without thinking too much about it. So, ideology helps keep society running in a certain way.