How I understand ideology (in my own words):
To me, ideology is basically the mindset you grow up with — the beliefs and values that shape how you see the world. It’s like the filter you look through without even noticing it. A lot of it comes from your family, community, school, and the environment you’re raised in.

Example:
If someone grows up hearing that “hard work guarantees success,” that becomes part of their ideology. But someone else might grow up seeing how unfair things can be, and they start to believe systems matter more than individual effort. So ideology is really the “background setting” that guides how you think about society.

2. The difference between conservative and liberal ideology (with example):
Conservatives usually want to keep things traditional. They prefer a smaller government and believe people should handle things on their own. Liberals want more change — they think government should help people more and focus on equality.

A big difference is how they see the role of government:
Conservatives want it small.
Liberals want it involved when people need support.

Example:
With healthcare, conservatives think it should stay private. Liberals think the government should help make it affordable or provide it for everyone.

3. How I understand Althusser’s definition of ideology (in my own words):
Althusser believes ideology isn’t just ideas  it’s something that shapes people through everyday institutions like school, family, religion, and media. Society teaches you how to act in ways that keep the system running, and you don’t even realize it.

Example:
School doesn’t just teach math. It teaches you to follow rules, show up on time, listen to authority  basically how to act like a future worker. That’s ideology working in the background.

1. Skip due to reading being inaccessible.
2. Where I live, I live near the 3 and 2 train on New Lots Ave. This train station is the last stop on the train. I would say the social class that lives near that train stop is middle class to working class individuals. I’m not exactly surprised by this because the neighborhood is pretty urban with stores and brownstones nearby, its a predominately black neighborhood and the residents tend to be young to middle aged people. I would say middle class and working class is an accurate representation of the people since often times i see the people at that station on their way to work and the neighborhood is looks middle class due to the amount of brownstone houses nearby.
3. Skip due to reading being inaccessible.

1. While reading the two texts, I noticed similarities in the way social class was discussed. Both readings state there are different categories people are placed in when considering social class. These categories or sections which people are placed in, are not equal. For example, in reading 4.1 Gallup breaks down social class into five sections: upper class, upper-middle class, middle class, working class and lower class. Through his multiple surveys, we realize income and other factors play a big role in determining which social class we fall under. In reading 4.2, the text first states the United States has a problem with income inequality. In fact, the income changes drastically between the boroughs in New York City. Both readings state income plays a major role in the social class placement. However, I also noticed differences between how social class is broken down between the two texts. In the first reading, the relationship between where we are placed according to social class and socioeconomic factors was highlighted. It basically spoke about how ALL factors such as income, education, age, race and place of residency plays a role in which social class we place ourselves in. In the second reading, it solely speaks about the relationship between income and place of residency. For example, in NYC the highest median household income is located in lower Manhattan and the lowest median household income would be in Brooklyn.

2. According to the reading, my neighborhood would be identified as middle class and contains the largest range in median income based on being a long the 2 train line. Personally, I am surprised by the answer because I see major signs of poverty in my neighborhood. Although this answer is based on general statistics, there is a good mix of wealthy and poor in my neighborhood. I do feel like this does not accurately represent the people living in my neighborhood. There is a very small percentage of people in my neighborhood who make over 90,000 dollars annually and I know this based on the amount of resources available in my community and based on the daily sight of homeless people all over my community.

3. Based on Reading 4.2, I believe the general pattern about social classes in NYC is the fact that lower Manhattan contains the upper class with the highest median income. All other boroughs and even upper Manhattan are more diverse in the placement of social class but definitely would not be considered as upper class. I can agree with the pattern because the majority of big businesses are located in lower Manhattan which would explain why those who live in lower Manhattan are more well off than the ones who do not. Overall in NYC, there are major gaps between social class placements and I believe socioeconomic factors also contribute to this.

1. I do notice similarities in the way social class is stated in the reading  4.1 and 4.2. One example showed the true meaning of the “working”, “lower” and “upper” based on household income. The sense I feel that sometimes we set ourselves to the standard of a hierarchy. How we see ourselves in a certain category whether we low ball ourselves or put us on a high pedi stool. Some may choose to go by the income, education, wealth status. One way that we cannot use is our political values to determine our social classes.  As for differences, for reading 4.1 defining social classes by the age, race and rural areas. Reading 4.1 gave me like a more wider explanation with lots of data and supporting evidence. Reading 4.2 only visually showed data from one year and the median household income.

2.

The station I live near is the 1 train and the social class that tends to live in my neighborhood are lower , working class and middle class. I would say 10% are upper class. <a href=”https://beefoo.github.io/subway-inequality-map/”>https://beefoo.github.io/subway-inequality-map/</a>As stated in <strong>NYC-Manhattan Community Districts 9 &amp; 10 (Hamilton Heights, Morningside Heights, West Harlem, etc.)</strong> According to the <a href=”https://furmancenter.org/neighborhoods/view/financial-district” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>NYU Furman Center</a> for Real Estate and Urban Policy, the median household income in 2021 is $43,774 . I am not surprised because in my neighborhood we have not only the most prestige’s colleges, a beautiful view of the Hudson River and New Jersey.  In the neighborhood, we have low income housing, elderly or disabled individuals that depend on government assistance and an accessible environment. I believe it is an accurate representation of my neighborhood because I have lived in my neighborhood for 22 years of my life. I believe I was able to see how my neighborhood adults, teachers, store owners, workers, crossing guard’s. Neighbors. Friends and businesses progressed or declined over the years. Which stores closed down or were mandated to move because rent was to high or landlord are bought out for more money. You’ll see the crime and constant violence in the neighborhood over the years. Substance abuse and homelessness. I have noticed gentrification around my neighborhood around the time Columbia and City College invested into the neighborhood to build more campus facilities and dorms. 

3. I would say I do notice a general pattern about social class in NYC,  certain areas more populated and have low income housing are somewhat considered lower and working class. Maybe around 10% are middle class . Classes in NYC I believe are based on geography, housing, education, race, and access to opportunity. Some areas may be a religious neighborhood amongst a certain group or ethnicity. The area predominantly white upper class and wealthy have nice building and more upscale environment.  Near the financial district or battery park are high income and lots of luxury housing, even businesses. In the contrary you may have an area of the Bronx that is the poorest with poverty rates, health issues, death, and robberies. Or an area like Washington heights has been changing over the years in populations and certain ethnic groups.

The subway station closest to me reflects mostly working-class people, which connects to the ideas from Reading 4.1 and the video “Wealth Inequality in America.” The video explained that most of the wealth in the United States is concentrated in the hands of a small group, while the majority live with far less. This shows how social class shapes everyday life in neighborhoods.

In my own experience, I notice this pattern. My neighbors and I work hard to cover basic needs like rent, food, and transportation, but we are not living in luxury or moving up into higher social classes. This matches what the video described—that most Americans fall into the middle and lower classes, while only a few are wealthy.

Overall, I think the video gives an accurate picture of the people in my community. I am not surprised by this because I see inequality in my own life every day. It makes me realize how wealth inequality affects not just the country overall, but also what I personally experience in my neighborhood.

In reading 4.1 social class is mostly determined by things like income and wealth, education, occupation, media representation, etc. People will perceive themselves in certain ways that aren’t really reality and 4.1 emphasizes that. The article talks about how people might rank themself on a higher scale than reality, like how people label themselves as middle class but might actually be lower class. On the other hand reading 4.2 shows more of an accurate statistic. Reading 4.2 uses the subway lines to show data on the social inequality in New York City.

The station closest to me is the 5 train on Baychester. This station mostly consists of lower class. In my opinion this seems to be accurate. There  are a lot of housing buildings and protections. There is also a high volume of minorities that live in the area.

Reading 4.2 the wealth distributed through different areas of New York City. Affluent areas like Greenwich Village, the Upper East Side, Williamsburg in Brooklyn, and Bayside or Forest Hills in Queens generally have residents with higher incomes and better access to resources. In stark contrast, neighborhoods such as the South Bronx, Jamaica in Queens, and East New York face significant economic hardships, characterized by lower income levels and limited opportunities. This disparity is also reflected in the city’s transit system, where differences in accessibility and quality highlight the economic divides. NYC tends to group people of similar socioeconomic status together, which reinforces these social class distinctions and hinders upward mobility.

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2. Crime has often been used as a form of social control by…

4. Michelle Alexander’s argument about segregation…

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NOTE: As usual, follow the guidelines from previous discussion board assignments, in answering by creating a new post…

1. Do you notice any similarities in the way social class is discussed in readings 4.1 and 4.2? Do you notice any differences in the way these two readings DIFFERENTIATE between social classes?
2. Pick the station closest to where you live. Using the concepts from Reading 4.1, what social class tends to live in your neighborhood? Are you surprised (or not) by the answer? Do you feel it is an accurate representation of the people living in your neighborhood?
3. Based on Reading 4.2, do you notice a general pattern about social classes in NYC?