In the case Betty Dukes v. Walmart Stores Inc. the United States Supreme Court ruled that Dukes and the women employees she represented were denied back pay. The Supreme Court justified their ruling by stating that while the women have faced gender discrimination, they did not lose the same promotions and deal with the same harassment from managers. Rule twenty-three’s commonality requirement of the class needing to have the same problem and solution prevented Dukes and the women employees from winning the case.

1. The “Establishment Clause” prohibits the government from creating and/or promoting a state-sponsored religion and stops one religion being favored over other religions/religious beliefs. The “Lemon Test” decides whether a law promotes a religious practice should be allowed to stand. The test is broken into three parts; there must be separation of church and state, the law has to be neutral in it’s effects towards religion, and there has to be a non-religious justification for the law.
2. Burning the U.S flag is protected by the First Amendment. A man named Gregory Lee Johnson set a U.S flag on fire in Texas and arrested in 1984. In 1989 during the “Texas v. Johnson” case, the Supreme Court decided that Johnson burning the flag was a “form of symbolic speech” protected by the First Amendment.
3. “Taking the Fifth” is a phrase that is derived from the Fifth Amendment. It is the right to remain silent.

1. The social class that wrote the Constitution was the wealthy and rich upper class. According to the reading titled “Class Power in Early America” by M. Parenti it states that these men were the “wealthy and powerful “gentleman”, our “Founding Fathers””. The lower class was not allowed to participate in this process. This included poor White men, women, and African Americans.
2. I think that the social class structure of early United States society is still alive and well. Our government still does not function in a way that will allow each and every American no matter their race or background to succeed. The upper class still holds the power within society. They run/own many businesses, college institutions, and so much more. It is not guaranteed that every descendant of a rich family will be successful but it does open many doors that a child from an impoverished neighborhood would not have access to.
3. The people who wrote the Constitution were afraid of democracy because it meant that the same people that were poor and uneducated could overrule them. Democracy also means that people could be swayed by different individuals because of the fact that they were uneducated.

1. The word “faction” reminds me of the concept of social classes. For example, President Trump is a person who has belonged to the upper class his entire life. Majority of his following includes other people who belong to the upper class. His policies, views, and laws are all built around keeping the rich wealthy.
2. According to Federalist #10 written by James Madison, the source of wealth comes from the “diversity in the faculties of men”. Madison is arguing that your wealth/ability of becoming wealthy is based on your intelligence, education, and opportunities.
3. I both agree and disagree with the explanation of wealth and poverty. Yes, education can make you both intelligent and rich but the explanation is ignoring the simple fact that many people are born into a life of opportunity. The explanation also completely leaves out racism and sexism due to the time period. A poor person could have the intelligence and skills needed to become the next president yet due to the fact that they aren’t educated enough, they will never get the opportunity.
4. According to Federalist Paper #10, the core mission of the US government is to protect its people from factions and control factions ability to influence and infiltrate the government. This doesn’t surprise me because I feel that this is still happening today. Many movements that encourage people to fight for democracy is seen as a threat to the government. The movements influence people to question the natural order of things.
5. I am not surprised that Federalist Paper #10 is not in favor of democracy and supports a Republican government. A democratic government could give “ordinary” people the tools to propel forward. For example the Constitution did not free the slaves. The government’s biggest fear would be the same people who they own and demean could become an educated law maker like them.

1. In the video titled, “Marx Part 1: Labor & Class Conflict”, two concepts are introduced; production and labor. Means of production is privately owned and the products are sold in a market. For example, Publix is a company that sells grocery items. Their means of production would include multiple factories and their stores nationwide that are used to create and ship the product. Labor is what increases the value of a product. For example, according to Vanity Fair, in 2015 Rihanna paid four million dollars to a Chinese designer named Guo Pei to create her dress for the Met Gala. The dress’s value comes from the fact that it took two years to make and it was completely handmade.
2. Value is what a product or item is worth. What gives a product value is the amount of labor it takes to produce under normal circumstances.
3. Labor and value are connected because labor is what creates value. For example, if a product is being made by a machine which can cut down the amount of labor needed to create it, then the value goes down.
4. Labor is the work that is required for something to be done and/or created. This could include machines building items in a factory. Labor power is the volume of work that a worker can do. This solely relies on a human’s ability.
5. Surplus value is the excess value that is created by workers that is worth much more than they are paid. The surplus value is collected by the employer/privately owned company. This is important to know about in our study of social classes because surplus value is how the working class is exploited. When workers are not being paid the real amount of money their labor is actually worth, it keeps them constantly stuck working for the private company. For example, many New Yorkers put their entire paychecks towards rent (that is constantly increasing every year) and bills. This leaves no room for them to create savings, properly invest their money, and afford vacation. If they were paid what their labor is worth then they could quit that job and open their own business. Surplus value is how economic inequality is created and maintained.

1. The statistic on wealth inequality that stood out to me the most was, “90 percent of American families have little to no assets”. This statistic was shocking to me because so many Americans live paycheck to paycheck. It makes you wonder if our society was destined for its people to fail. This statistic proves the saying “the rich get rich and the poor get poorer” to ring true.
2. As someone who as grown up in a society that has huge wealth inequalities, it can limit your access to different opportunities, proper education, adequate health care, and more. This dynamic is being played out in our society today. For example, a wealthy family creates generations of children who will either never have to get a job or have a guaranteed job through the family business or connections. A low income family will have to depend on their jobs for income and work for years before they can retire. Their paychecks don’t allow them to build generational wealth.

The diagram M-C-M is a concept created by Karl Marx. This concept explains how capitalist increase and maintain their wealth. “M” stands for money. This is the initial amount of money that a capitalist will start with to possibly invest and/or create. “C” stands for commodity. The capitalist will use their money to invest in labor and workers to create a product that will generate money. The “M” also stands for money. This is the profit from both the product and the surplus value from the worker’s labor.