1. In Reading 4.3, Michael Parenti explains that the main difference between owners and employees is where their income comes from. OwnerSs which is the capitalist class, live mostly off investments and the labor of other people. Employees, on the other hand, have to work for wages or salaries to survive. In simple terms, owners make money because other people work for them. Employees make money by working themselves. For example, a person who owns a large company and earns income from stocks, property, or business profits would be considered an owner. A factory worker, nurse, teacher, or office worker who depends on a paycheck would be considered an employee. The key difference is not just how much money they make , it’s whether they live off investments or off their own labor.

2. Parenti quotes Adam Smith saying that labor is the “real price” of things. I understand this as meaning that all value comes from human work. Money itself doesn’t create value , people do. For example, a tree in the forest doesn’t automatically become paper or furniture. It becomes valuable because workers cut it down, transport it, process it, design it, and sell it. Without labor, there would be no finished product. So the quote is basically saying that labor is the true source of wealth in society. Money is just a way of measuring that value, but it’s people’s work that actually creates it.

3. In Reading 4.4, Paul Heideman argues that class is not just an identity like race or gender. Instead, class is a structure of power and relationships, especially between workers and capitalists. I understand his point as saying that class is not just about how someone feels or how they identify. It’s about your position in the economic system, whether you own property and businesses or whether you have to sell your labor to survive. That position shapes your interests and your actions in society. Personally, I think this argument makes sense. Race and gender are identities people carry regardless of their job. But class is tied directly to economic relationships. A worker depends on an employer for a paycheck. That’s not just identity, that’s a real economic relationship that affects daily life.

4. Heideman explains that class involves a close form of dependency because workers and capitalists depend on each other in very direct ways. Workers depend on employers for jobs and income. Capitalists depend on workers to produce goods and generate profits. This dependency is “close” because it’s not abstract, it’s built into everyday life. If a worker doesn’t work, they don’t get paid. If workers stop working (like in a strike), the employer loses money. So both sides rely on each other, even though the power between them isn’t equal. A good example would be a factory. Workers depend on the company to pay them so they can afford rent and food. But the company depends on the workers to operate machines and produce products to sell. If the workers went on strike, production would stop, and the company would lose profit. That shows how closely connected and dependent, they are.