1. Based on the arguments presented in readings 6.1 and 6.2 it is clear that the Constitution was written by the wealthy class. The wealthy class being property owners. They can be broken into three classes, the small farmer, the manorial lords and the slave owners. The individuals left out of the Constitution creation where the working class or the “propertyless” as George Washington labeled them. This class consisted of freeholders, artisans, tenants, and indentured servants. Most of these individuals were heavily in debt. Debt and the need to not have to work directly for wealth is what mostly separated these two classes. As the article states ” Ordinary working people could not take off four months to go to Philadelphia and write a constitution. The debate between haves and have-nots never took place.”
2. I would say the social class structure of todays society is different then the social class of early United States. I believe it is different mostly due to the creation of the Middle Class. Early America was mainly wealthy or not wealthy. In todays society many individuals can not be wealthy but still own land and live a very comfortable financially free life. In early America that was not as possible. By owning land you immediately became a man of importance. this still holds some truth in todays society but much more land is needed to be recognized as wealthy.
3. The individuals who made the Constitution were so afraid of democracy because they did not want the lower classes to disrupt the wealthy class. George Washington himself said a constitution was badly needed “to contain the threat of the people rather than to embrace their participation and their competence,” lest “the anarchy of the propertyless would give way to despotism.” The founding Fathers were also afraid that the non land owning class would have different agendas then the land owning class. James Madison himself said “the most common and durable source of faction has been the various and unequal distribution of property [that is wealth]. Those who hold and those who are without property have ever formed distinct interests in society” and “the first object of government” is “the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property.”

1. I understand the means of production as the ability to produce something. To produce something, you have to have the proper items. An example of this would be a T.V. show. A T.V. show has to be produced and is produced by a production team. Labor is the means to increase the value of what one has. An example of this would be a field. Without any labor put into the field it will grow wild and be unusable. With labor put into maintaining the field the field can now be used, increasing the fields value.
2. Value is how much labor it takes to produce under normal circumstances. What gives value to value is time. Time is the ultimate value and when someone uses their labor, they are using their time. In return making what they spent their labor on valuable.
3. Labor and value are related because labor is the means for making something valuable. How much labor it takes to produce something dictates its value.
4. Labor power is one’s ability to produce labor. It is the energy inputted when labor is produced. Labor is the ability to create value. It is an individual’s labor that makes a product more valuable.
5.  Surplus value is the value on top of the value already produced under normal circumstances. It is the profit. This is important to know about in the study of social classes because not every class is treated the same. Some classes or jobs produce more surplus value then others. This causes conflicts between the laborers. An example of surplus value would be a worker working on a farm. In a couple of hours he may pick the equivalent of what he gets paid but he must continue to work to fulfill the owners of the farms bottom line.

1. The distinction reading 4.3 makes between owners and employees is that owners live off mostly investments. This includes stocks, bonds, rents mineral royalties and other property incomes. Employees live mostly off wages, salaries and fees. The employee most work for their pay while the owner has people work to make him money.
2. The quote by Adam Smith is saying that labor is the ultimate value decider. That labor predicts and controls the cost of everything and that labor is the true value of something. Money is just the value placed on something second to the cost of labor.
3. My thoughts on the main argument in reading 4.4 that class is not an identity is that I believe it is an identity. There are tons of people who identify by the area they live in and the money they make, these both being connected to ones class. Many different races and other groups of people who would not normally get along if in the same class are now acceptant of one another.
4. Class structures being built around a close form of dependency is the authors way of saying that one class would not exist without the other. For example the working class could not exist without the Capitalist class. The working class relies on the Capitalist for employment and money to purchase basic life necessities. On the other side of the dependence is the Capitalist depending on the working class. Without the working class Capitalist would not be able to be Capitalist, they rely on workers to provide labor and make them money.

1. I did notice similarities on how social class is discussed. In both articles majority of individuals indicate themselves as Middle Class. The differences is that in “What Determines How Americans Perceive Their Social Class?” the writer differentiates social class in many ways opposed to in the New Yorker it just speaks about the inequality related to train station stops.
2. Since I live in Staten Island the closes subway stations on the infographic to me is the South Ferry. The social class that tends to live in my area is upper middle class, with college degrees. This does not surprise me. A lot of the people who live near me are skilled professionals.
3. The general pattern I noticed about social classes from the 4.2 reading is that the farther you get away from Manhattan the lower the social classes get on average.

1. A Repressive State Apparatus is the control through the use of violence. He calls it repressive because through the actions taken an individuals freedom will be restrained. For example lighting a fire in a grocery store would be dealt with Repressive State Apparatus. That individual did something deemed wrong and dangerous to society so now will be punished by the judicial system ultimately going to jail and losing their freedom.
2. Ideological State Apparatuses are schools, politics and the mass media. They are used to prevent change to the ideology. Politics work by giving an individual a choice when in reality the choices they have are still both under the same ideology. The mass media works by offering indistinguishable choices again giving an individual the perspective of choice and freedom but the choices are all relatively the same. Mass media also causes individuals to gravity towards niche interest instead of focusing on the interest of the society they live in. For example an individual who has a favorite tv show will bond with other’s over that favorite tv show instead of spending their time fighting for equality. Lastly, schools from the very beginning of someone’s life begin to install discipline. Discipline keeps individuals in order and prevents them from trying to over throw or change the current ideology.
3. The difference between Repressive and Ideological State Apparatuses is that Repressive State Apparatuses use fear and violence while Ideological State Apparatuses use manipulation and a sense of contributing to ones society. One is very in your face and the other is implemented sublimely by ones surroundings.
4. This picture is a example of a Ideological State Apparatuses. It is instilling into society that women need saving by men through the media. Indicating that a women should stay in her role and rely on a man.

1. I would describe ideology as a belief system or system of ideas installed into individuals. An example of this would be a football organization having its players represent themselves a certain way when being interviewed by the media. This organization is creating a mindset for its players on how they should behave and act. Further more ideologies are installed all around us. At work their is one form of ideology, with a group of friends there may be another and at your parents house a different kind. All these environments have the ability to create ideas in which dictate how one should act in such settings.

2. The difference I see between Liberal and Conservative ideology in America is that Liberals are more for big government and Conservatives are against big government. Liberal’s support ideas like universal healthcare, assisted living for the unfortunate and larger taxes on the ultra wealthy. Conservatives support less taxes on the ultra wealthy arguing that if they were taxed less they could provide better pay and opportunities for the working class. They support big spending on the military and less spending on the helpless. Liberals want the governments help but don’t want the government to be a police state over them. As for conservatives they feel the government should stay out of most situations and be the up most authoritative to the average citizen.

3. Althusser’s definition of ideology is that if you distract the members of a society with the “choices” of freedom then they will feel free. Which keeps them content enough to conform to the system that the people in charge want integrated. If this doesn’t work and people do try to disregarded the system then you threaten or punish them with violence. The whole idea is to give people a sense of freedom so they do not think about inequality or fight for change. For example giving the people the right to vote for president in America. In all actuality the odds of either candidate making substantial changes is slim but the powers that be want the people to feel like they have a choice so they don’t try to rewrite the whole system.

1. Southern racist politicians choose to frame their defense of racial segregation through the language of “Law and Order” because they knew they would get away with it. The country at the time had a up rising of crime. The southern racist politicians new if they sold the idea of fighting crime and protecting the people they would be able to get away with almost anything with the support of the people. The advantage this gave them was the ability to push their agendas while being incognito.
2. I do believe the Southern strategy is still influencing American politics. There are many education systems in the south that teach slavery very different from how it is taught in the north. In the south they are filled with propaganda at a young age that tells whites they should believe in the confederate ways because there great granddaddy’s did. Lastly, in the south the disproportionate of wealth between people of color and whites is the highest. The median white household had a income of $188,200 compared to $24,100 for blacks.

1. M. Alexander claims that the main explanation of why so many people are sent to jail in the U.S. today is deeply wrong. What she means by this is that majority of the individuals are not being in prisoned for the safety of society. This is just an idea sold to the American people. Most individuals in jail are there for harmless drug offenses. The U.S penal population exploded from around 300,000 to more than 2 million, with drug convictions accounting for the majority of the increase. She goes on to say that America uses its prison system to keep minority groups suppressed. The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its black population than South Africa did at the height of apartheid.
2. Racial disparities in the rates of incarceration cannot be explained by rates of drug crimes because studies show that all races use and sell drugs at the same rate practically. Studies have also shown that if there is any type of description in racial comparison with drugs its that white youth is more likely to engage with drugs then people of color.
3. I understand the phrase ” the American penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world history” by viewing our penial system for what it is. That is a entity that controls who gets to participate in America and who doesn’t. Our penal system is not used as a system to punish the criminal but as a system to withhold unpopular individuals from society. There has never been a more structured system in place to suppress certain individuals as the U.S. penal system.