1. In the reading titled, “Wealth and Want” the writer says that when you are apart of the owning class you live off of investments such as stocks and bonds. Your income is very large and comes from the labor of other people. For example, the people who own and invest in a company like Uber make their profit off of the drivers who work for the company. When you are an employee who belongs to the working class, your income comes from your own labor. This labor has the potential of being exploited by the owner/owning class. For example, as an employee at Uber, you make your money through being a driver and/or courier. You will only see profit if you make a delivery or picking someone up. You also will not see the full amount the customer is being charged.
  2. In the quote by Adam Smith, he is simply saying that the true value of something is the labor that was required to make it. The labor give the product its value, not the price/money.
  3. I agree with the argument that class isn’t your identity. Class is another way for people to be put into small boxes and attach stereotypes to them. Class has the ability to either hinder your life with adversity or make your life easier. It can absolutely be something that is apart of the shaping of your identity but not the entire thing.
  4. The argument “class structures are built around a close form of dependency” means that social classes are built around the needs of the people in it. For example, when you live in NYC you notice that many people who live in certain apartment buildings have constant changes in landlords and owners of their building. The landlord can increase the rent to bring in a wealthier group of people and push out the “poor”. The rent increases are too high to maintain, which can force the resident to seek government assistance such as section 8 or food stamps, or will force them to move into subsidized housing. This form of housing and government assistance allows residents to become completely dependent on them and keeps them poor so that they meet the criteria for these benefits. Their neighborhoods that are filled with violence don’t promote education or have adequate job opportunities. This keeps people who are poor, mentally ill, and homeless away from luxury buildings and wealthy neighborhoods they can’t afford.

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