Discussion 5.2

Entrepreneurs can continue to amass wealth because they already have money to spend on goods to produce more goods and sell them for more money. If the owners of capital can always reinvest their funds and carry out their transactions as frequently and swiftly as possible buying to sell, beginning with money to acquire more money this aids in the development of their capital. This shows why they have remained wealthy over time. Without work, business owners cannot generate wealth or profit. Surplus value, or all the additional money that goes into the owner’s pocket instead of the worker’s, is how they make money off what they sell since they sell it for more than it is actually worth. MCM’ The first M represents the currency that is utilized to produce the commodity, which is C. The quantity of work/labor required to make the finished goods is represented by C, and the money at the end of the transaction, M’, has a higher value than the first M. This is what Karl Marx argues that workers are worth more than they are paid.

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

A product that, with the application of labor, may be utilized to produce a good that will result in profit for the owner is referred to as a means of production. An example of that would be planting , we would plant flowers to then sell for a higher cost than it cost to make. To add on, labor is defined as an activity that can raise the worth of our assets. An example of that would be factory workers.

Another important concept in understanding social class is value. Based on the ideas presented in Video 5.1, what is value?  What gives “value” to value, what makes something valuable? 

The amount of time and money required to produce a thing under natural conditions is how value is measured. Something grows more valuable the longer it takes to manufacture it. Time is literally money so the more time spent in construction of the product, it makes the product more valuable.

How are labor and value related? What’s the relationship/connection between the two?

Value and labor are closely related concepts. Value determines how much labor is “worth.” The higher the value something has, the more work and time we invest into it. It’s in a way a two step concept, you need the two to properly function within an organization. Time is money.

How do you understand the difference between labor and labor power? 

Only individuals have labor power; maintaining an economy requires a certain quantity of other goods. Labor power is the worth of the work that an employee advertises for another employee, whereas labor is the time and effort put in by an individual to generate a good.

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?

Surplus value can also be referred to as “financial gain.” It is a value that is still present after all associated production and maintenance costs have been subtracted. In terms of making profits, workers are always paid less than their labor is worth. An example of surplus value would be the law of ‘supply and demand’

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

One distinction is that there are people who are wealthy thus being the owner  whereas there are people who must work for a living thus being the employees. These extremely wealthy people live off said stocks, bonds, and investments and their employees live off salaries and wages. Like said in the article, “The distinction between owners and employees is blurred somewhat by the range of incomes within both classes.” (Parenti 29).

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

I believe Adam Smith is saying in order to have money, one must work for it. He mentioned a ‘real price’ and a ‘normal price’, by this I think he means that the real price is a metaphor , similar to the one “ paying the price” to which one has to sacrifice a lot in order to make a “normal “ amount of money hence the “ normal price”.

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

I don’t agree. I do believe that your social class is an identity. Your social class is a part of you. For starters, you yourself are the one working, going to work and making an income. So therefore, you are adding a modification to yourself, this modification being your income. Income defines one quite easily as well. If you’re making under 19k, you’re lower class and if you make under 29k you’re part of the working class etc..In all, your class is a part of you and is an important part of you to maintain.

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?

Identification to social classes

1.  Do you notice any similarities in the way social class is discussed in readings 4.1 and 4.2? Do you notice any differences in the way these two readings DIFFERENTIATE between social classes?

Something that was similar with both readings is that both discussed numbers and information about social classes. It mentioned how we perceive ourselves when it comes to identifying with a social class.They discuss it based on income , age ,race, etc..But the difference between the two is both writers seem to differ on many ways when it came to ranking these classes. Such as the charts used, article one uses a date chart while using different categories, whereas the second graph uses a line graph.

2. Pick the station closest to where you live. Using the concepts from Reading 4.1, what social class tends to live in your neighborhood? Are you surprised (or not) by the answer? Do you feel it is an accurate representation of the people living in your neighborhood?

I live on Kingsbridge Road so I live on the D line. And the median income was 18k. That would mean others in my neighborhood and I are in the lower class. To be honest, I am not surprised. The building I live in is a mess and hasn’t had a maintenance check in years. The block is always a mess. We also have a lot of cheap brand stores around us such as dollar trees and 99cent stores.I always knew we were lower class hence that money was always an issue. It’s just sad to see the reality. I do believe it’s an accurate representation of my neighborhood because everyone in my neighborhood kind of knows everybody, so income is something we all kind of talk about and we all made around the same money so this is pretty accurate. 

3. Based on Reading 4.2, do you notice a general pattern about social classes in NYC?

Something I noticed about social classes is that the stigma that “ living in Manhattan means you’re rich” is true. While the people who live in Manhattan are neither wealthy nor rich, they are still stable enough to live comfortably in Manhattan. People in Manhattan tend to land in the upper class.

What is a Repressive State Apparatus? Why does Althusser call it “repressive”? Can we explain his choice of words here. Give an example.

Repressive state apparatus is the act of convincing someone to do something using threat or force.One or multiple people are in charge but disobeying or disrespecting thus person or people would result in the ‘force or threat’.One example would be a warrant. You did something that was illegal so now the police now have the right to break down your door, barge into your house and forcefully detain you.Or another example could be if you steal from a store the threat would be going to jail or having the police called on you.I believe he called it repressive because, as the word implies, it restricts someone’s freedom, which is exactly what this oppressive strategy is doing because you have some control over the individual getting the RSA treatment.

 Let’s do the same for the Ideological State Apparatuses. What are they, how do they seem to work?

 Althusser claims that ISA uses strategies other than physical force to accomplish the same goals as RSA. They could be the family, media sources, churches, social , and educational institutions.One example would be one mentioned in the video about school, coming late to class would result in the teacher threatening to call your parents.Or not showing up for work would later integrate into you manager telling you, you might not have a job tomorrow.

 Important: this question will appear on our exam: How are the Repressive and Ideological State Apparatuses different from each other? What is the difference between the two?

The two are different because Ideological State Apparatuses operate by ideology itself whereas the Repressive State Apparatus operates by violence. ISA takes a more softer approach where RSA is more aggressive and fearful.

 Post an example of ideology.

This is definitely an ideological apparatus at work because it shows the LITERAL hypocrisy world we live in. We live in a world where we can not have an opinion because ‘we want to be considerate to everyone’s feelings’ or whatever nonsense people want to believe. And if you do speak your voice and someone doesn’t agree with what you say, it’s “ How could you?!?!?!?! YOU GONNA GET CANCELED”. Like the clip 2:10, it shows a person upset over a tv show so they create a hashtag so that the show gets canceled… just because they found it “offensive”. He states how people shouldn’t, in this case shouldn’t attack and terrorize a tv show company because of their sensitivity.We live in a day and time where you have to satifise everybody or else you’re wrong.

Keeping in mind the material covered in this lesson, describe how you understand ideology

Ideology is a concept of ideas.It’s a gathering of thoughts to help form a particular view or opinion on a particular topic. This also opens the floor for other people, who share similar or even different ideological concepts as you. Now this is where ideology gets interesting to me because ideology can also have multiple meanings depending the term you’re using it in.

How do you understand the difference between conservative and liberal ideology in US politics? What seem to be the big differences, the dividing line? Give an example to back up your arguments.

An example of that would be the debate between liberal and conservative ideology.Liberals today tend to think that government should intervene in the economy and provide a diverse spectrum of social services to ensure equality and well-being for all members of society, though the concept of liberalism has evolved through time.Such as freedom of speech, press, religion etc..Whereas conservatives frequently hold the view that government should be limited and primarily focused at the state or local level. They want very little government involvement in the economy.That would mean they would want the government too impose limitations on abortion and same-sex marriage in order to protect ‘traditional morality’.Or another way of describing it is how it was said in the article, “ Conservative ideology preaches the virtues of private initiative and self-reliance: rich and poor pretty much get what they deserve; people are poor not because of inadequate wages and lack of economic opportunity but because they are lazy, profligate, or incapable. The conservative keystone to individual rights is the enjoyment of property rights, especially the right to make a profit off other people’s labor and enjoy the privileged conditions of a favored class”(Institutions and Ideologies 52).I mean if doesn’t show how small minded and ignorant conservatives are I don’t know what does? They definitely love to blame other people for economical social problems as if 1.they aren’t part of the issue or 2.are making the situation more worse. Whereas most modern liberals think that in order to maintain low unemployment, low inflation, and rapid growth, the consistent basis must be managed by the government. They basically love the government’s ‘help’ on stopping the inequalities in the world.To be honest, I feel like liberals are easily gaslighted by the government, in the sense where I can say “I will cancel all student debt if you vote for me” and a liberal would say “ Hey! I have student debt so I’m definitely going to vote for that guy!” and months later…. guess who still has student debt? Yeahh…see my point?

How do you understand Althusser’s definition of ideology? Paraphrase it in your own words. Given an example

Ideology, according to Althusser, is a perception of power. When their conditions worsened, it would make sense that individuals, as stated in the video, turned to fascism. You kind of need to have a smart mind if you want others to obey you or listen to you. You need to know what to say, when to say it, what concepts you believe, and so forth. Relating all of this to ideology, if you hold a broad belief or viewpoint and persuade others to hold the same viewpoint you do, then that would be the sense of power he refers to.An example of this would be the repressive approach which consults in fear, such as police, courts, incarceration.