1.Two key concepts in this video are the means of production and labor. In your comment, explain how you understand the means of production and labor. Give an example of each.

So the two key concepts in this video are the means of production and labor, for means of production I understand that it can be understood as resources or tools that are needed to produce the goods and also services, it could be anything that is used to create products/goods, one example will be a farm it has land, tools and machinery like tractors that are needed as well as other tools and raw materials like seeds and fertilizers for the crops and also livestock making the farm owner the means of production and the farm workers will provide the labor by tending to the crops and taking care of the animals in exchange for money.

Labor will be the workers/people that produce the goods and the services with their physical and mental efforts they use the means of production to create said products they the workers will sell their labor for money. An example will be a waiter working at a restaurant, the waiter’s labor will be something like taking peoples orders, serving the food and drinks and also making sure the customer is getting a good serves that are some of the tasks that is included with the labor they use their energy and their own time to make sure that the restaurant is operating smoothly but they don’t own anything like the restaurant or any equipment in the kitchen which will be part of the means of production.

2.Another important concept in understanding social class is value. Based on the ideas presented in Video 5.1, what is value?  What give “value” to value, what makes something valuable?

Value is determined by the amount of labor required to produce whatever you are trying to make so the value of the product will be connected to the amount of work that goes into making it.

Value of value will be the total amount or necessary labor time that is required to make or produce that product also the amount of labor needed as well using skill and efficient workers it can be the combination of more than one person but primarily the amount of time that will be the value to create that product. An example will be a product that is handmade like a leather bag that is handcrafted the value of the bag will be determined by the amount of labor work that took to make it like cutting the leather stitching it together or if you want to add your own custom design any little details that you might want on that handmade bag will require time and effort so the value will be higher compared to a mass produced handbag which is machine made, so the value will be coming from the labor because he is creating it and making the item more personalized making the labor time their craftsmanship and unique touches these things will contribute to the value.

How are labor and value related? What’s the relationship/connection between the two?

Labor and Value are related, labor will be the source of the value and the value of the goods/products are determined by the amount of labor used to produce that product.

The relationship/connection between both is that labor creates the value so the more labor that one puts into creating a product the higher the value will go like labor determines the value and labor being the source of value, labor creates the value but also the market value can change depending on other factors like supply and demand.

4.How do you understand the difference between labor and labor power? Hint: this is a key difference, give it your best shot based on what the video says about it, and your own ideas. We’ll clarify and develop it in our discussions, and in my video comments.

Understanding the difference between labor and labor power is an important idea in Marxist theory because it helps us understand both of them, labor will be an actual worker that we people putting in the mental and physical effort to produce the goods it’ll be the energy and also the time we spent on producing goods and services, labor power refers to a workers capacity or their ability to work the potential to preform labor is the amount of work a worker has or is capable of doing which those workers sell to employers while labor will be the action of doing the work.

5.Surplus Value: what is it? Why is it important to know about, in our study of social classes? Think about an example of surplus value?

Surplus value is the difference between what a worker is paid and the value of what they are actually making, the extra value that the workers give and over the value of their labor power how much they are getting paid.

I think it’s important to understand surplus value in our study of social classes because it helps us understand the exploitation of the capitalist system the workers who produce more value than what they are paid for and that extra value that they produce is kept by the capitalist class so that leads to the collection of wealth for the capitalist meanwhile the working class gets underpaid, it also explains the class divide, the capitalist class benefits from the surplus value which is produced by the working class which leads to the imbalance in the wealth and power between the classes.

An example will be a clothing factory person working in one is getting paid 12 dollars per hour sewing clothing and they work 8 hours and they produce like 7 pieces of clothing and each of them sell for 40 dollars in the market, Their wage(labor power) they will earn 12 dollars per hour times how many hours they are working which are 8 hours so that will be 96 dollars for that day so that will be their wage for that day and the value produced which will be the pieces of clothing that they made that day which was 7 pieces times the market value for each piece of clothing which is 40 dollars a piece that will amount to 280 dollars for those 7 pieces of clothing, So the surplus value would be the difference between the values that they produced and the wage that they received from doing it, So the Surplus value will be 280 dollars and the money she got from her 8 hour shift(wage) for the 7 pieces of clothing will be 96 dollars, which shows the exploitation in the capitalist system the person is producing goods that are worth more than what they are getting paid, the surplus value is assigned by the capitalist, this way the capitalist gather more wealth by taking out surplus value from the workers.

Labor is human effort both physical and mental. used to transform raw materials into products or provide services. The means of production are what you need to make the actual things, and labor is the work people do to make those things happen.

Value refers to the worth or importance of something. What contributes to value is its usefulness, desirability, and cultural significance. Something is considered valuable if people are willing to sacrifice something for it, such as money or time. The value of an item depends on how much it is wanted, its utility, and the meaning it holds for individuals or society.

Labor contributes to the creation of value by turning raw materials into useful products. The more effort or skill is required to create something, the more value it can have. Labor determines the value of products.

Labor is the effort and activity that someone puts into creating something. So if a person is assembling a product they are using their labor. Labor power is a person’s energy, skill, and time they can offer like how skilled they are at doing something and for how many hours they can do it for. Labor is the actual work and labor power is the way the work is getting done is how I understood it.

Surplus value can explain how wealth and power are distributed in capitalist societies. Workers produce more value than they are paid. That extra value is the surplus and it is kept by the capitalists thats what makes them richer off laborers. Surplus value helps explain the widening gap between the rich and the poor, as the wealthy continue to profit from the labor of others.

 means of production and labor.

=Means of productions refers to resources and tools needed to make a product (wood, plastic, iron..) and that is when labor is needed to work with those resources and tools in this case people do labor i their daily life

 what is value?  What give “value” to value, what makes something valuable? 

= Value is what something is worth depending on any category like effort, time, innovation…. something is valuable when getting to that point takes valuable resources and work

How are labor and value related?

=Labor and resources are related because both need each other to exist, and both need any sort of purpose when getting resources to make them valuable through effort

How do you understand the difference between labor and labor power? 

= Labor power is capacity of working and labor is when somebody works also Labor comes with labor power but what is being bought, if you do labor for a wage, is your ability to do labor, not the amount of labor “Capitalism owns it” just like the means and the extra value produced by workers

Surplus Value: what is it?

=When it comes to the Marxist theory is says that the value from the labor is higher than what they are getting awarded for it when can see it in the way capitalism works and treat the working class it is important to understand how the working class is relies on “labor exploitation” when comprehending surplus value especially in today’s days

Means of Production & Labor
The means of production are the tools, machines, factories, and materials needed to make things. For example, a bakery’s ovens and ingredients are part of the means of production. Labor is the work people do to produce goods or services. A baker mixing dough and baking bread is an example of labor.

What is Value?
Value is how much something is worth. According to the video, value comes from the labor put into making something. The more work and time it takes, the more valuable it is.

Labor and Value Connection
Labor creates value. Without labor, raw materials wouldn’t become useful products. The more labor it takes, the more valuable a product usually becomes.

Labor vs. Labor Power
Labor is the actual work done, like making a chair. Labor power is the ability to work, which workers sell to employers in exchange for wages.

Surplus Value
Surplus value is the extra money businesses make after paying workers. It’s important because it shows how workers create profit but don’t get the full value of what they produce. For example, if a worker makes shoes worth $100 but only gets paid $20, the rest is surplus value for the company.

1. Two key concepts in this video are the means of production and labor. In your comment, explain how you understand the means of production and labor. Give an example of each.
2. Another important concept in understanding social class is value. Based on the ideas presented in Video 5.1, what is value?  What give “value” to value, what makes something valuable? 
3. How are labor and value related? What’s the relationship/connection between the two?
4. How do you understand the difference between labor and labor power? Hint: this is a key difference, give it your best shot based on what the video says about it, and your own ideas. We’ll clarify and develop it in our discussions, and in my video comments.
5. Surplus Value: what is it? Why is it important to know about, in our study of social classes? Think about an example of surplus value?