1.

Reading 4.3 shows that the difference between owners and employees comes down to where their money comes from. Owners don’t need to work for every dollar they make because they earn income through things they own, like businesses, property, or investments. Their income is based on profits. Employees are different because they have to work in order to get paid, usually through hourly wages or a salary. If they stop working, they stop making money. For example, an owner could be someone who owns a company or several small businesses and earns money from how well those businesses do. An employee would be someone like a cashier, teacher, or warehouse worker who has to show up and work shifts to receive a paycheck. This shows that one group earns through ownership, while the other depends on selling their labor to survive.

2.

The quote from Adam Smith is basically saying that labor is what creates value. Things don’t just have value on their own, people have to actually do work to make them useful or worth something. For example, a tree in a forest doesn’t really have much value until someone cuts it down, turns it into wood, and then uses it to make something like furniture. That’s when it becomes valuable. So what Smith is saying is that labor is what turns raw materials into something people can actually use, and that’s how value is created in the economy. It also shows that workers play an important role, because without their labor, products wouldn’t exist in the first place.

3.

In Reading 4.4, the argument is that class is not an identity, and I actually think that makes sense. Class is more about your position in the economy and how you survive, not really who you are as a person. Things like race or gender are more connected to identity, but class is based on whether you rely on wages or ownership to live. For example, someone might identify with being working class, but that doesn’t define everything about them, it just explains their economic situation. I find this argument convincing because class affects your lifestyle, your opportunities, and what you have access to, but it doesn’t fully define your personality or identity. It’s more about your role in the system than who you are personally.

4.

When Reading 4.4 says that class structures are built around a close form of dependency, it means that different classes rely on each other in order for the system to work. Workers depend on employers for jobs and income, while employers depend on workers to produce goods and services that make them money. So even though they are in different positions, they still need each other. A good example of this is warehouse workers at a large company. The workers need the job to get paid and support themselves, while the company needs the workers to keep production going and make profit. If workers decide to go on strike, the company can lose money and slow down production. This shows how both sides are connected and depend on each other, even though the relationship isn’t equal.

Parenti makes a fundamental distinction owners live mostly off of investments, stocks, bonds rentals, etc. their wealth comes from the labor of others while employees live mostly off of wages, salaries, etc. they must work for a living he also adds an important clarification not everyone who owns a business is a part of the own in class. Small business owners must get up and work every day alongside their employees and struggle to survive. Most of these small business owners are victims of the lies, told to them by capitalism an example of an owner is a shareholder in a major corporation who receives income from dividends and never has to work for this money while an example of an employee is a factory worker who earns an hourly wage and even in high paid corporate manager, who must still show up and work it doesn’t matter how high up on the chain you are if you must show up and work to receive money you are an employee. 

Smith is basically saying that labor is the true source of value money is just what we used to represent that value, but it’s just a symbol not the real worth the real worth of anything comes from the human effort that went into creating it for example trees become paper or furniture, and while those end products cost money, their value is placed by how much labor was went into it the more time and labor is spent on something they more money. It’s cost money at the end of the day is just a very convenient way to measure an exchange value, but it is not value itself.

Heideman’s key point stating that class isn’t about how you identify or what lifestyle you have, it’s about what you have to do to live and what interest follows from that. For example a nurse and a farmer have very different incomes and education levels, however both must work for wages, and both face employers trying to extract as much as possible from them. They shared this similarity regardless of how they identify. 

Heideman contrasts class with the race to explain this whiteness as an identity does not depend on a particular relationship with a non-white race a racist in an anti-racist are equally white with class is different the close form of dependency is basically this to be. A worker means that you have to be directly dependent on the specific capitalist for a job and to be a capitalist means to be directly dependent on exploiting your worker to maintain your position neither can exist without the other for an example. I work at Amazon as a warehouse worker. I rely on Amazon to give me my paycheck so I can survive Amazon depends on exploiting me in unfair ways  

1. According to Reading 4.3, the primary distinction between owners and employees lies in their methods of generating income. Owners (the capitalist class) derive their income primarily from investments and property, including stocks, bonds, rentals, and business ownership. Employees, on the other hand, earn a living by exchanging their labor for wages or a salary. For example, a corporation owner who profits from company profits or stock investments belongs to the owning class. The employee or working class includes nurses, teachers, and retail workers who are paid for their work.
2. As stated by Adam Smith, labor is the true source of value, which means that products and services become valuable solely through human labor. Money is only a measure of value, as effort is what creates it. In other words, there would be no economic value if people did not cut wood, create furniture, package things, or provide services. This supports the idea that workers generate money, even when they do not receive all of it.
3.  Reading 4.4 argues that class is more than just an identity like race or gender, it is also a power structure and economic interactions. The author states that class is determined by whether a person owns productive property or must sell their labor to survive. It is about economic status and dependency, not personal identity. I take this to suggest that, while people can identify as “working class,” class is defined by material conditions and economic power. It influences people’s interests and behaviors in society. So it’s more than just how someone perceives themselves; it also influences how they survive and what options they have.
4. Reading 4.4 shows that class is a close type of dependency since workers rely on capitalists for jobs and money, while capitalists rely on workers to make profits. This establishes a direct and continuing contact between the two groups.
5. For example, a worker relies on their employer to pay them to survive. At the same time, the employer requires employees to produce things or services to make money. If employees strike, the business loses money. This demonstrates how both sides rely on each other, although in uneven ways. The close dependency is what separates class from other types of classification.

1. The distinction that Reading 4.3 makes between owners and employees is that while employees mostly work and put in the labor for the money they make, owners make most of their money off of the work the employees do. For example, owners control things like factories, investments, or companies and make money off of these productive resources. For employees, the money they make is just a portion of what they get for the work that they do. In the article, it states that, “The average private-sector employee works two hours for herself or himself and six or more hours for the boss.” This basically means that the rest of that hard earned money is just a source of the owner’s income.
2. I think that the quote by Adam Smith on pg. 28 is saying that without labor, we would basically have nothing and the economy would fail to continue functioning the right way. Labor is the true source of wealth. While owners get the profits, the workers are the ones making things happen. Without them and without their labor, there would be no wealth or income.
3. i agree with the main argument of Reading 4.4 that class is NOT an identity. This is because although many wish that we could just place ourselves in a certain social or economic class, we can’t. It’s not our choice. At the end of the day, it all still comes down to things like income and education, not just who you are or things revolving around culture or ethnicity.
4. I believe that when Reading 4.4 says, “class structures are built around a close form of dependency”, this means that the social classes all depend on one another. While employees/workers rely on the higher classes for jobs and money, the higher class relies on the working and lower class for their labor and because they can sell the products. An example I can think of to explain this close form of dependency is a daycare. The director needs teachers to help them make sure the children are okay while the director makes sure the teachers are okay.

1. Reading 4.3 explains that the key difference between owners and employees is the source of their income. Owners earn money mainly from property, investments, or businesses they control. Their income comes from the labor of other people. Employees, on the other hand, must sell their labor in order to survive. They depend on wages or salaries. For example, a factory owner who earns profits from selling products is an owner. A worker in that factory who earns an hourly wage is an employee. The worker depends on the owner for employment, while the owner depends on the worker’s labor to generate profit.

2. I think labor is value. Money do not crate value, it only represents it. People through time, skills and produce it. That is truly value. For example, the wood in the forest, if not body cut it, transport it and make it to furniture. It’s only a tree.

3. I agree this. For example, my grandfather is labor, they don’t have more resource for my parents. So, they need to work so hard and don’t have more opportunities to be owner. However, a rich family, they will spend more money, time and share their relationship for their kid. It’s different identity class in social not just personal identity.

4.Workers depend on capitalists for jobs, and capitalists depend on workers to generate profits. This creates an interdependent but unequal relationship. For example, I work in restaurant, the boss pay me salary, but I need to pay my bills. Also, the restaurant through all employees to continue make money. If workers go on strike, the restaurant will loss money, the boss can’t make money. This shows how class relationships are based on mutual dependency, but with unequal power.

1. The reading 4.3 shows that owners and employees have different ways of earning money which serves as their primary distinction. Owners earn most of their income from investments like stocks, property, or businesses, meaning their wealth mostly comes from the labor of other people while employees earn money through wage work or salary employment because they must exchange their work time for pay. An owner can exist as a person who possesses a major corporation and generates income through company earnings and his investments or could also have multiple small businesses to generate income from multiple sources such as corner stores. An employee could be a cashier, teacher, or warehouse worker who depends on their paycheck from working regular hours.
2. The quote from Adam Smith shows that labor functions as the fundamental driver of economic value creation. People need to apply their effort to transform raw materials into products which have actual value. The economic value of a forest tree only emerges when workers cut it down and process it into lumber and craft it into furniture products. According to Smith, labor functions as a way to determine the actual value of items which we evaluate using money. Human labor transforms resources into products which people find beneficial.
3. The article Reading 4.4 shows that class functions as an economic system position and race and gender function as personal identity components. According to this statement class can be defined as the source of a person’s life, which means that a person is either dependent on property to keep them supported in the economy or the person gets by on a wage. I find the argument convincing because class establishes the basic living conditions which all people experience together with the physical items which they are able to obtain. The reading shows that people who identify as working class experience their social class through their economic status and the corresponding rights which they hold.
4. Reading 4.4 shows that workers and capitalists have different methods of depending on each other. Workers require their employers to deliver both jobs and salaries whereas employers rely on their staff members to produce goods and services that produce their earnings. A good example of this would be warehouse workers at a large company. The employees require employment to receive their wages while the company depends on its staff members to maintain production activities. The company would suffer production losses and financial damages when its workers choose to go on strike. The situation demonstrates how both parties depend on each other.

1. In reading 4.3, Parenti explains that the main distinction between owners and employees is their relationship to capital. Owners control businesses, property or large amounts of wealth and make profit from their employee’s labor. On the other hand employees do not own the business or capital but instead they sell their labor in exchange for wages and depend on their employer for income. For example, the owners or the major shareholders of big companies like Starbucks earn money from the company’s profits. A Starbucks barista, however, earns hourly pay by working and does not own the business. So, the main difference is that owners make income from capital, while employees depend on wages.
2. The quote by Adam Smith suggests that labor is the real source of wealth in society. Workers are the ones who actually produce goods and provide services, which creates economic value. However, even though labor creates that value, workers do not control the profits. Instead, owners of capital benefit the most. I understand this quote as highlighting an imbalance: labor is necessary for wealth to exist, but workers depend on employers for wages and do not receive the full value of what they produce. This connects to Parenti’s argument that class is about who controls capital and who must sell their labor to survive.
3. In Reading 4.4, the main argument is that class is not an identity in the same way race or gender is. I understand this to mean that class is more about someone’s economic position in society rather than how they personally identify. For example, someone may identify strongly with their culture or race, but their class position depends on whether they own capital or work for wages.I think this argument makes sense because class is based on economic relationships and power, not just personal identity. At the same time, I also think class can feel like part of someone’s identity because it shapes their daily life, opportunities, and experiences. In NYC especially, your economic position affects where you live, where you work, and what access you have. So while class may not be an identity category in the same way race or gender is, it still deeply influences how people experience society.
4. In Reading 4.4, when it says that “class structures are built around a close form of dependency,” I understand this to mean that different classes depend on each other economically, but not equally. Workers depend on employers for wages in order to survive, while employers depend on workers to produce goods and services. However, this dependency is not balanced because owners have more power and control. The “close form of dependency” is mainly the relationship between labor and capital. For example, a restaurant worker depends on the company for a paycheck, but the restaurant also depends on workers to operate and generate profit. Even though both sides depend on each other, the owner has more control over wages, hiring, and decisions. This shows how class is structured around economic relationships, not just identity or lifestyle.

1. The difference between owners and employees based on where their income comes from. Owners are people whose income comes mostly from investments and property, meaning they make most of the money from the labor of others rather than from working themselves. Employees, on the other hand, must work for a living, earning income mainly through wages, salaries, or fees for their labor. And try as hard as they can’t to get a raise or to get any extra money that they can.
2. I understand Adam Smith’s quote on page 28 as saying that labor is the true source of value in the economy. When Smith says that labor is the “real price” of all commodities and money is only the “nominal price,” he means that what actually gives something value is the human work that goes into making it, not the money attached to it. In other words, raw materials like trees or metal are not valuable on their own—they become valuable only after workers put time, skill, and effort into transforming them into useful products. The quote emphasizes that labor, not capital or money, is what creates wealth. This idea supports the argument that workers are the real producers in society, even though they do not receive the full value of what their labor creates.
3. I think the main argument of Reading 4.4—that class is not just an identity—is convincing and important. The reading explains that class is not simply about how people see themselves, like race or gender, but about a structural relationship based on ownership, power, and dependency in a capitalist system. Workers and capitalists are connected through their roles in production, and their interests often directly conflict, which makes class different from most other identities. Because capitalists control the resources that everyone depends on, class shapes many other forms of inequality, including racial and gender oppression. Seeing class as a structure rather than just an identity helps explain why real social change often requires challenging economic power, not just changing attitudes.
4. I understand Reading 4.4’s argument about “a close form of dependency” to mean that social classes in capitalism are directly tied to one another through survival and power, not just ranked separately like identities on a ladder. Workers depend on capitalists for jobs and wages in order to survive, while capitalists depend on workers’ labor to produce goods and generate profit. This creates a tight, ongoing relationship where each class’s position only exists because of the other. An example of this is a factory: workers rely on the factory owner for employment, but the owner relies on the workers to keep the factory running and profitable. Unlike identities such as race or gender, this dependency is material and unavoidable—you cannot be a worker without an employer, and you cannot be a capitalist without workers. This is why the reading argues that class is a structural relationship, not just an identity.

1. What is the distinction that Reading 4.3 makes between owners and employees? Give an example of each.
   The main focus and difference Reading 4.2 discusses between owners and employees is how they make money/ income. Examples of these are owners can make a profit of stocks, bonds, real estate and many other things that benefit them based off a majority of others work. While someone like an employee works for wages/ salaries. They are the labor for said owner. This could be someone like a shareholder in a company like apple versus someone who is a teacher.
2. How do you understand the quote by Adam Smith on pg. 28? What is it saying about labor?
   I understand it in a way that money is just a fraction of the value of what we do which is really the labor. In its own sense we maintain order of a business since our own presence and work ethics allow it to thrive. Money is its own portion of it.
3. What are your thoughts on the main argument of Reading 4.4 that class is NOT an identity?
   My thoughts on reading 4.4 are that it describes class as not an identity because it’s more of a relationship status of those who own the property and those who work there. It is its own survival since both depend on each other whether it’s good status relationships, ethics, paychecks, and when it comes to terminating/ firing people. It’s not your identity but a bond you must build to maintain your status.
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?
   Earlier stated I understand Readings 4.4. Both owners and employers build class structures but that gap between them is dependency. One needs the other to function. We would depend on a boss for money, and our boss would depend on us to keep said business thriving. An example could be a strike at a school; teachers walk out causing principals/ boards to panic since they can be shut down and lose money.