Reading 4.3 distinguishes owners and employees based on their source of income and their relationship to labor. Owners, often wealthy individuals or families, earn income from investments such as stocks, bonds, rents, and royalties. They profit from the labor of others rather than working themselves. An example of an owner would be a stockholder in a large corporation. Employees, on the other hand, earn their income through wages, salaries, or fees in exchange for their labor.
Adam Smith’s quote emphasizes that labor is the true source of value. He argues that it is labor, not money, that gives products their real worth. From harvesting and manufacturing to distributing and selling, it is the human effort behind each stage that transforms raw materials into valuable goods. Money is only a symbolic measure; the actual “price” of a product is the amount of labor that went into making it.
Reading 4.4 makes the important argument that class is not simply a personal identity or label, but a social relationship based on material conditions and economic roles. Class is about one’s position in relation to the means of production whether you own capital or must sell your labor. This means that class is not about how someone feels or identifies, but about their role in the economic system. Understanding class this way helps clarify why economic inequality persists: it is built into the structure of capitalism itself, not just individual choices or behaviors.
The “close form of dependency” described in Reading 4.4 refers to the mutual dependence between owners and employees. Owners depend on workers to produce goods and generate profits, while workers depend on owners to provide jobs and wages. This relationship keeps both classes tied to one another, but not on equal terms. For example, in a factory, the owner needs the labor of workers to run machines and meet production goals, while the workers need the factory job to afford rent, food, and other essentials. This tight dependency maintains the structure of capitalism and reinforces inequality.
The statistic on wealth inequality in the U.S. that made the biggest impression on me was that the top 1 percent of Americans hold at least 40 percent of the country’s total wealth, while the bottom 80 percent only control around 7 percent. This stood out to me because it shows how massive the gap is between the rich and everyone else. It also made me think more about how wealth is created. According to the reading, capitalists profit from unpaid labor. During surplus labor hours, the worker adds value but does not get paid for it. For example, if a capitalist pays for only 40 units of value but gains 100 units from the product, the extra 60 units come from the worker’s surplus labor. This is called surplus value. That value is kept by the capitalist without compensating the worker for it. The rich stay rich not by working harder, but by making others work for less than they’re worth. That makes the wealth gap even more unfair.
Living in a society with extreme wealth inequality creates serious problems. It affects everything from schools and jobs to healthcare and housing. I see this play out in real life all the time. For example, schools in poor neighborhoods often don’t have the same resources as schools in rich areas. That means students in low-income areas are at a disadvantage from the start. I also think about how workers are pushed to do more and more. In fast food or warehouse jobs, people are expected to work faster, cover more ground, or handle more tasks without extra pay. That’s one way capitalists increase surplus value by getting more labor out of workers without paying more. This creates stress, burnout, and exhaustion for regular people while the wealthy keep gaining more. The system is set up to keep the power and money at the top.
In capitalist society, wealthy individuals maintain and increase their class status through a process summarized by the formula M–C–M′. This diagram represents how capitalists invest money (M) to buy commodities (C), such as labor power and raw materials, and then sell the finished products for more money (M′). The difference between the initial money (M) and the final return (M′) is called surplus value, often represented as m′. This surplus is the source of profit and is only made possible through the exploitation of labor. Workers are paid less than the value they produce, and the capitalist pockets the difference. Unlike the cycle C–M–C, which describes working-class life, where a person sells a commodity (like their labor) to get money in order to buy another commodity (like food or rent) the M–C–M′ cycle is not about survival or need. It is about expanding capital. Capitalists do not spend money to satisfy personal needs, but to make more money. This makes the cycle continuous and self-reinforcing. As long as profit can be extracted, the capitalist remains wealthy and able to reinvest in more labor and production to generate more profit. This system ensures that wealth is concentrated in the hands of those who already own the means of production, reinforcing inequality over time.
In order to make products, you need two things: the means of production and labor. The means of production are the physical tools and materials used to create goods and services. For example, to make a hat, you need fabric, needles, thread, and a sewing machine. In a capitalist economy, these tools are typically owned by capitalists, not the workers. This is important because whoever controls the means of production also controls the profits. Labor is the actual work performed by people using those tools. The person sewing the hat and assembling it is performing labor, and it’s this labor that makes the final product possible.
Labor creates value. According to the labor theory of value, the amount of labor needed to make something is what gives it value. Value is measured in time and effort. The more labor it takes to make a product under normal conditions, the more valuable that product is considered to be. For example, a dress usually requires more time and effort to make than a hat, so the dress would have more value. What makes something valuable is not just the material or the final product, but the amount of labor used to create it. Labor creates value. According to the labor theory of value, the amount of labor needed to make something is what gives it value. Value is measured in time and effort. The more labor it takes to make a product under normal conditions, the more valuable that product is considered to be. For example, a dress usually requires more time and effort to make than a hat, so the dress would have more value. What makes something valuable is not just the material or the final product, but the amount of labor used to create it.
Labor and value are connected because labor is the source of all value. When people work to make products, the time and effort they spend gets turned into value. If something takes more labor to produce, it will be more valuable. This is why the work that goes into making a dress adds more value than the work that goes into making a hat. In capitalism, this value is often taken by the capitalist, even though it’s created by the worker.
Labor is the actual work someone does, while labor power is their ability to work. Labor power is what a worker sells to an employer in exchange for a wage. The employer doesn’t just pay for what a worker produces, but for the worker’s ability to work during a set time. For example, a person making $16 an hour would have to work about 78 hours to make $1,000 for rent. Their labor power is being sold to the employer, and what they get in return is a wage; not the full value of what they produce.
Surplus value is the extra value that workers create beyond what they are paid. It is what allows capitalists to make a profit. For example, if a fast food worker earns $128 for an 8-hour day, but the food they help produce and sell is worth $1,000, the extra $872 is surplus value that the capitalist keeps. This matters in understanding social class because it shows how workers are exploited. They create more value than they are paid for, and that difference becomes the capitalist’s profit. Knowing about surplus value helps explain the economic power gap between workers and owners.
A Repressive State Apparatus (RSA), according to Louis Althusser, is a tool the state uses to maintain control over society through direct force or the threat of violence. Althusser calls it “repressive” because these institutions enforce rules by punishing people who resist or disobey. The word reflects how these systems operate openly through discipline and control. Examples include the police, the military, courts, and prisons.
Ideological State Apparatuses(ISA) are institutions that maintain control by shaping people’s beliefs, values, and behavior rather than by using violence. Althusser believed these were the main way modern societies maintain order. ISAs include schools, religion, families, mass media, and the political system. These institutions teach individuals to see the current social structure as normal or fair. For example, schools train students to follow rules and respect authority, which prepares them to accept unequal power in the workplace.
The main difference between Repressive and Ideological State Apparatuses is the method of control they use. RSAs maintain order through force or the threat of punishment, while ISAs work by influencing people’s beliefs and ideas. RSAs are usually physical and visible, like the police or prison system. ISAs are more behind the scenes, like schools or the media, and they rely on creating consent rather than fear. Both systems help protect the power of the ruling class and keep society structured in a way that benefits capitalism, but they do so in very different ways.
One of my favorite songs by Solange “F.U.B.U” is a musical expression of black ideology, rooted in black cultural pride and resistance to assimilation. It critiques how consumer culture erases or exploits Blackness, and instead affirms a Black identity that is self-defined and self-sustained. In Solange’s “F.U.B.U.,” the lyric “Don’t feel bad if you can’t sing along / Just be glad you got the whole wide world”serves as a powerful commentary on privilege, cultural boundaries, and anti-Blackness in America. This line addresses the common debate around non-Black people wanting to say the N-word, especially in music. Rather than centering their feelings of exclusion, Solange reminds them that they already benefit from a society structured around white supremacy. The desire to participate in Black culture, particularly in saying a reclaimed slur stems from a deeper issue of entitlement and the constant imitation of African American culture without experiencing its struggle. Solange flips this dynamic, stating that exclusion from a word or a song is a small price in comparison to the systemic oppression Black people face daily. Ultimately, the lyric asserts that not everything is meant to be shared, and those outside the community should respect that boundary instead of feeling entitled to cross it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njp2vaBzgto
To me, ideology is a subconscious system of beliefs that shapes how we view the world and act within it. We are taught these ideologies from a young age through a process called political socialization; where institutions like family, schools, media, and social groups influence values and political views. We as citizens often unaware of how specific goals we internalized have been shaped by larger systems with more specific goals. An example of ideology from an intersectional perspective, is the common phrase told to many BIPOC children and young adults: “You have to work twice as hard to get half as far.” On the surface, it may sound like motivation, but it reveals a deeper ideology that systemic racism and inequality will affect how your hard work is perceived to certain people. To further expand on how I understand ideology, I think it’s important to acknowledge that many people are unaware of the ideologies they’ve absorbed, or who actually benefits from them. The democratic, consumer, and entertainment apparatuses all play a role in distracting citizens from recognizing equality. For example, it feels easier to identify as a “matcha girly” or a “Knicks” fan than to critically identify yourself as a member of the working class. These apparatuses interpellate us; meaning they call us into roles and identifies that keep us invested in the system, rather than rebelling against it. Through these tools, ideology becomes something we live out daily.
The primary dividing line between conservatives and liberal ideologies in the US lies in their core values; liberty v equality. Conservatives tend to emphasize individual freedom, limited government, and personal responsibility. They often believe that a smaller government leads to lower taxes and more efficient markets. While liberals on the other hand, tend to prioritize social and economic equality, often supporting a more active government role in addressing systemic issues such as poverty education and healthcare. Liberals also have a higher belief in the government than conservatives. They advocate for government programs that offer support to marginalized communities. It’s important to note however, assumptions made about socioeconomic background; are just generalizations and not absolute truth.
20th century redefines ideology not as a set of consciously chosen beliefs, but as an unconscious frames work through which people interpret the world. Building on Marxist theory, we now argue that ideology serves the ruling class by maintaining their power and reinforcing the existing social order through systems that shape individuals from a young age. Althusser introduced the concept of ideological state apparatuses, such as schools, media, and religion, and family which produce compliance through repetition and normalization of dominant values. On the other hand, repressive state apparatuses like the police, or the courts, enforce power through direct control or through the threat of violence. Althusser also sees schools as significantly important. For instance, schools don’t just teach academic content, they teach obedience, competition, and how to function within a capitalist economy. As Althusser put it, no other ideological state apparatus “has the obligatory audience of the totality of children… eight hours a day for five or six days.” This positions education as the modern equivalent of the medieval church; not just a place of learning, but a tool for ideological conditioning.
Southern racist politicians framed their defense of racial segregation by using language of “law and order” in order to “distance themselves from an explicitly racist agenda.” Allowing them to de-stigmatize their movement and garner support.
I do believe the Southern Strategy continues to influence American politics today, particularly through the ongoing use of dog whistles and voter suppression tactics. Michelle Alexander even highlights voter suppression in her article, showing how these strategies disproportionately impact communities of color
Michelle Alexander argues that the main reason why so many people are sent to jail today is rooted in the belief that increased drug use in black and brown areas was the result of their high incarceration rates. She believes that this view is wrong due to the fact that the War on Drugs was launched in 1982 by Ronald Reagan and his administration — 3 whole years before crack cocaine began to spread in poor black neigborhoods. She argued that the war on drugs began during an era when drug use was facing a decline. The CIA later came out in 1988 that “guerrilleare armies it actively supported in Nicaragua were smuggling illegal drugs into the U.S — drugs that were making their way onto the streets of inner city black neighborhoods — The CIA also admitted that in the midst of the war on drugs it blocked law enforcement efforts to investigate illegal drug networks that were helping fund its covert war in Nicaragua.”’
Racial disparities in incarceration rates cannot be explained solely by drug crime rates because studies reveal that people of all races use and sell drugs at similar rates. To back up this claim Michelle Alexander states “If there are significant differences in the surveys to be found, they frequently suggest that whites, particularly white youth, are more likely to engage in drug crime than people of color.”
The phrase “the American penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world history” suggests to me that the U.S. penal system has become an unjust mechanism for managing and controlling a significant portion of the population. The scale of incarceration, particularly among minority communities, indicates that this penal system functions not only as a means of punishment but also as a tool to regulate and maintain social order. “Governments decide how much punishment they want, and these decisions are in no simple way related to crime rates”.
