The courts help protect the little guy, even when the majority is against him. Courts provide a check on power, makes sure the constitution is not being violated, and ensures that laws are being applied fairly and consistently. Branches like Congress and even the President may not take a strong stance on v=certain issue because of the political divide. The courts are not concerned with the political landscape; they are concerned with making sure the law is fair and just to all. An example is Obergefell v Hodges: The Supreme Court case that legalized same sex marriages nationwide. This was a law that many states had already passed, but there were many other states that still held that same sex marriage was illegal. This law would have never been a long battle to get passed in Congress and the President may not have signed an executive order. The Court based its decision on the constitution and not on opinion and personal convictions.

The appointment of judges may seem very anti-democratic; however, if implemented the correct way, it is beneficial to society. Even though federal judges are appointed, many of them have careers that began on the state level, where they were part of some election. They are appointed after years of service and a proven track record of integrity, morals, prudence, and ethics. The President, who we elect, appoints the judges, while the Senate, who we elect, confirm the judges. There are checks and balances throughout the process. The lifetime tenure of a federal judge speaks to the concern raised in the Federalist #10 document. The concern is that the majority, the mob, will control the government. A lifetime tenure ensures that the judges aren’t influenced by those in power, but they are guided by the constitution.

1. Traditional war is fought against a defined group of people in a defined location with a defined number of resources. The war of terror, as P. Williams puts it, is a war of the mind. Anyone that threatens us or makes us afraid can be deemed a terror; therefore, we can be at war with anyone.
2. Roving wiretaps seem to violate the Fourth Amendment and the First Amendment. The Fourt Amendment violation is due to the wiretaps can be deemed an unreasonable search since the wiretap is not specified to one device or location. And it allows other people who may not be under investigation to have their communications tapped as well. The roving wiretaps may violate the First Amendment because the presence of the tap may discourage people not part of the investigation to exercise their right to free speech due to the fact that they may be under surveillance.
3. Sneek and Peek warrants seem to violate the Fourth Amendment and the First Amendment. The Fourth amendment violation is since there is no prior notice; therefore, individuals don’t have the opportunity to challenge the legality of the search beforehand. The seek and peek warrants may violate the First Amendment because people may not exercise their right to free speech if they think there is a possibility that their property could be searched without warning.

1. The Establishment Clause is part of the First Amendment. It is a clause that keeps the government from promoting one religion or promoting one religion over another. It is the division between church and state. The Lemon Test is used by the Supreme Court to make sure the government hasn’t gone against the establishment clause. There are three criteria used to determine whether a law violates the Establishment Clause.
2. The Supreme Court case, Texas v. Johnson established that the burning of the American Flag was a form of free speech and was protected by the First Amendment.
3.  I’m taking the fifth means that someone is invoking their fifth amendment right not “to be a witness against himself.” It allows people to not have to answer questions or provide information that could ultimately incriminate them.

In a federal system, citizens are involved on the federal and state levels, by voting for state governors and legislators, but also voting for the president and national lawmakers. In a confederate system, citizens are involved primarily in only the state matters but have little to no influence on the national level. In a unitary system, citizens are involved in national elections. The state or local government don’t have much authority at all.

The division of power is how the authority of government on both the state and national is identified. It clearly explains which government is responsible for what. The national government handles national matters. The state governments handle state matters. The division of power also established checks and balances and ways of making sure all laws passed, whether national of state, are constitutional.

The national government can pass federal laws that can influence how the state laws will respond. During Covid, the national government set certain protocols and recommendations. The states were able to decide how strict or loosely they wished to follow those protocols. New York received a great deal of financial aid from the national government. From businesses shutting down, unemployment, overcrowded hospitals, rising cases, and an excessive death toll, New York State had to work closely with the federal government in response to the pandemic.

1. What concept that we have already discussed does “faction” remind you of?

The word faction reminds me of the concept of laborers. The affluent who wrote the constitution are the capitalists and the faction are the laborers.

• According to Federalist #10 (written by James Madison), what is the source of wealth (private property)? What factor explains why some people get to possess wealth by owning private property, and others don’t (thus remaining poor)? This is a key question, because it shows how the authors of the Constitution thought about the difference between different classes of Americans! HINT: focus on the passage that begins: “The diversity in the faculties (WHAT DOES FACULTIES mean or refer to?) of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not les….”

The source of wealth according to Madison is a person’s abilities: their labor, skills, and their effort. However, some people have access to more resources than others. This unequal distribution of resources creates an uneven playing field. The people with more resources continue to acquire more resources that help obtain more wealth. Inversely, those with less resources must work harder and longer to keep what they have with very little opportunity to gain any more.

• Do you agree with this explanation of wealth and poverty?

I do agree with this explanation of wealth and poverty in the general sense. I read an article of a young lady who started a very successful company. And the two- or three-page article had one sentence that said, the business was started by a gift of $100k from her father. Well, let’s just glaze over that like it wasn’t the most important factor. She had resources. Therefore, she was able to build on those resources. Those with less resources spend their time trying to acquire the $100k and may never even get the business started. Of course, there are those exceptional people who have risen from the most unfavorable circumstances to achieve greatness. However, those instances are rear.

• What is the core mission (“first object”) of the US government? Does this surprise you, does it sound different from what our society today seems to suggest the core mission of the government is? Explain.

The core mission of the US government is “the protection of these faculties”: the government should protect the abilities of those who do have from those who can’t have. This doesn’t surprise me at all. I think this core mission is not different that government’s core mission today. There was a wave of mortgage fraud throughput the county in the early two-thousands. The secondary mortgage market were fraudulently packaging subprime loans as A paper. The individuals on the loan origination level were convicted of crimes. The institutions were awarded a multi-billion-dollar stimulus package. This allowed them to continue conducting business .

• Given the discussion in questions 1-4, are you surprised that Federalist #10 is not in favor of democracy, and supports a Republican (representative) form of government? Why would d the author dislike a (pure) democratic form of government? Hint: think about how this question connects with the social classes…

A true democracy would give the power to the masses. A republic gives power to small percentage of the overall population. The small group (group) who make the laws for the democracy are subject to the intentions of the small group (republic).

1.    Based on the arguments presented in Readings 6.1 and 6.2, which social class wrote the Constitution, and which class was excluded and not allowed to participate in this process? In your comment, make sure you clearly specify the difference between the two classes by giving examples from the readings.

 The rich and affluent wrote the constitution, while the working class (majority of the merchants, indentured servants, slaves, etc . . .) were excluded and not allowed in the process. In “Democracy for the Few” it is stated how only 10 percent of the population, consisting of wealthy property-owning white men, were allowed to vote. It goes on further stating that the Constitution required a four-month conference. Only the wealthy could stay away from their homes from that long and still be able to sustain themselves. The working class had to be where their work was located.

2.    Would say that the social class structure of early United States society, was the same as ours today, or different? Explain.

The social class structure is the same today as it was in the early United States. The distribution of wealth is beyond atrocious. The country is still based on debt and creditors. People are still working to barely make their monthly obligations while they get into more debt. The difference is now, there is a greater illusion of opportunity. Many people are homeowners and drive nice cars. They have access to the “American dream”. And this American dream, for example, allows the wealthy to lend several mortgages on the same property repeatedly. A new buyer or a refinance is the beginning of a new loan, with the majority of the interest paid in the 1^st 5 years. The property and land is constant; but the borrowers keep changing.

3.    Why were the people who wrote the Constitution so afraid of democracy? Hint: think about how to answer this question by discussing it in terms of social classes.

Democracy is a concept for all the people. But as stated before, only 10%, the affluent and wealthy, of the population were included in the political arena. So, the 10 % did not want the 90%, the working class, to have an impact on their ability to establish ways to secure their existing interests and generate more wealth.

1. Means of production is what is needed to produce a product. Labor is the time and energy required to produce a product. To make orange juice, you need oranges and a tool to extract the juice. The time and energy required to extract the juice is the labor.
2. Value is the amount of time and energy (labor) required to produce a product under normal circumstances. The more time, specialty, and training required to produce something then the more valuable it is. Inversely, the less time, specialty, and training required then the less valuable it is.
3. Labor is the key component in determining value. The more labor required, the value increases. The less labor required, the value decreases.
4. Labor is the time and energy required to produce something. Labor power is the ability to perform the labor. Different products will require different labor power. A locksmith has a different labor power than a software engineer.
5. Surplus value is the profit made from labor. Surplus value is the reason capitalism exists. The capitalists make money off the labor of the working class. That profit is based on the surplus value of labor. If an hourly worker gets paid $10/hr and within their 8-hour shift, they produce enough for their $80 to be paid in 3 hours of their shift, then the remaining 5 hours of their shift is surplus value.

The distinction between an owner and an employee is that an owner makes most of his/her money by profiting from the hard-work and labor of others; the employee is the one working hard and laboring. Mark Cuban was the majority owner of the basketball team, the Dallas Mavericks. The players sign huge contracts, but they are still employees. They must practice, travel, and perform every night. Mark Cuban is worth 5.7 billion dollars. I have never seen him shoot or dribble one basketball.

Adam states that the time, work, and labor that it takes someone to produce something is what truly determines its value. Money just somehow represents that value. But even when the price drops or rises, the labor doesn’t change.

The main argument that class is Not an identity was thought provoking and well supported. Class would be better described as a social status. The two distinct statuses are the wealthy, the capitalist, and the worker. And the worker face even more challenges with racial and gender inequalities. The schools in minority neighborhoods are underfunded and overcrowded. The students grow up with sub-par education. And with a sub-par education. They will either later depend on the system or work some remedial job. And they have children. They spend so much time on the job and they are so burnt out that they are not as involved with their children’s education. Parent participation in education is low in minority communities. Therefore, no one changes the sub-par education. And their children grow up to depend on the system or work remedial jobs themselves. This is not an identity. This is systematic oppression.

Class structures that are built around a close form of dependency” presents the argument that regardless of our position in society, we all are in some way dependent upon those outside our social class. The capitalist depends on the labor of the worker to continue making profits. The worker depends on the capitalist to continue producing so they can continue to labor for wages. Even more in depth, society needs the capitalist to keep producing because society needs what they produce; therefore, society also needs the worker to keep laboring so the product can be produced. Therefore, government involvement is biased to the capitalist because of their control of what society needs. However, as a unified force, the laborers can stop laboring, which stops production, and demand social changes.

As noted, the 4.2 reading was not available; therefore, the first question can’t be answered.

The closest station to me is the Long Island Railroad – Saint. Albans stop, and for the subway, the E, J, and Z trains – Jamaica Station stop. My area comprises of mostly lower class to working class. I am not surprised with my answer. New York has many areas that people with extreme income differences are neighbors. For example, I know someone who lives in Chelsea and is paying $20k+/month for their loft. And one block away is Chelsea projects, which has a much lower income bracket. In my neighborhood there is a mixture of individuals: business owners, families, wage-earners, unemployed, etc . . . St. Albans is an area of Queens that has many different age groups as well. Many people in my area have some level of higher education. There is also a high percentage of home ownership. The classes I identified are an accurate representation of those living in my neighborhood.

As noted, the 4.2 reading was not available; therefore, the third question can’t be answered.

A Repressive State Apparatus is an apparatus used to impose fear of punishment to keep people aligned with the ideological norm of that society. Althusser calls it repressive because the “repressive” state apparatus may very well go against someone’s natural behavior and/or ideas. If a person is assaulted by someone, their natural response may be to hit them back and defend themselves. However, there some states that will convict someone unless they can prove that hitting back was there only option for survival. If the person had the chance to flee or call the cops, then they should have taken that option instead. The fear of being arrested and convicted of assault may deter someone from responding naturally by immediately returning the attack.

Ideological State Apparatuses are schools, politics, and mass media. These apparatuses create a sense of norm for society. It relies on people’s natural desire to be accepted. Therefore, a social norm is presented that most people will not deviate from. School is a state apparatus where children are trained to learn the norm of being obedient and submitting to certain rules and structure. As adults, this obedience and submission will be continued at work, religious institutions, and in almost every aspect of their lives.

Repressive State Apparatuses enforce the threat of fear with punishment and violence with police, courts, and prison. Repressive State Apparatuses are needed when someone deviates from the behaviors created and outlined by the Ideological State Apparatuses. Ideological State Apparatuses create and enforce the social norm through education, media, politics, and family.