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.
    1. I understand the means of production to be the resources that we use to create and produce goods and services, and those goods are sold to make a profit for business or corporations. Labor increases the value of the goods that are produced. In the video he states that labor “is measured in time, hours, and minutes”, the more time and labor it takes to make something the more valuable it is. When using automatic equipment to create some the value decreases because it would take less time to create the product. An example of means of production and labor is high fashion clothing brands that use physical labor that might take hours to make, package the products, and sell them at very high prices. And those who are needed for this type of labor might go to school for fashion design technology school which can take two to four years of training, for some it’s a talent they was passed down from generations.
  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? 
    1. Value is the amount of labor that it takes to produce products and the value doesn’t decrease in the time that it takes to produce the product. How much time it takes to produce a certain product under normal circumstances is what gives “value” value.
  3. How are labor and value related? What’s the relationship/connection between the two?
    1. Labor and value are related in that the amount of time and training put into producing goods the more valuable that product is. The connection between the two is that labor is the source of value and the value of goods is the amount of labor that it takes to make those goods.
  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.
    1. The difference between labor and labor power is, labor power exposes the amount of value not only in the individual conducting the labor but the materials included and the amount of time fully included in doing that work. Labor power is what works sells in exchange for a wage and gives worker more power in who they sell their labor power to. Labor is the work that is being done by humans to produce goods in which a society is contingent on.
  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?
    1. The surplus value in its chore essence is just the amount of profit a company makes off of your labor, workers provide value through labor and goods produced. It’s important to know surplus value in social classes because capitalist use exploitation and appropriate to get more labor and under value their workers. Capitalist make more economic profits and the exchange of work and time put into producing goods doesn’t equal the wages that is received. The worker sells their labor power for a wage to be able to buy other goods that is produced as a means of necessity. So the worker is not making a profit but the capitalist is.

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