Posted on by Diana Sadreeva

Diana Sadreeva – Discussion 4.2

1. In Reading 4.3, a distinction is made between owners and employees. Owners generate their income through the labor of their employees, while employees work to grow the owners’ businesses. For example, a wealthy and large corporation, such as Chase Bank, makes approximately $177.6 billion in annual revenue. Meanwhile, the average employee at Chase earns around $75,000 per year, with top earners making up to $220,000. Although these employees work in the same building and company daily, their earnings are significantly lower than those of the shareholders and top executives who profit most from the business’s growth.

2. Adam Smith says that labor is the true source of a company’s value. Wealthy individuals would not achieve their status without the work performed by their employees, whether for their businesses or other investments. It is the outcome and success of the business that holds real significance, money only reflects the status of that success.

    3. I think Paul Heidman made some excellent points, describing how most people like to categorize themselves into a class of identity based on race or gender, but need to realize that there is much more to a person through their actions and position in society. He explains that class is much more than how you describe yourself, it is a structure of what your position is and reflects how people relate to work, ownership, and power, not their personality.


    4. This argument, “class structures are built around a close form of dependency,” describes that each class is dependent on the others. Owners need their workers to help keep their business alive by using their time, labor, and skills. The workers need the owners to get a job to survive and make money through the owners. The owners typically do have more control and power, but both owners and workers are mutually needed in society. This is where your role in the system is more defined.

    Posted on by Zusette

    Zusette Gonzalez DB#4.2

    1.

    The reading explains that there are two main groups in society when it comes to money and work: the owners and the employees. Owners are the people who own the wealth, like stocks, land, or big companies. They make money mostly from these investments, not from working every day. For example, someone who like owns a giant corporation or owns lots of rental properties is an owner because their income comes from like other people working or the things they own. On the other hand, employees are the people who work for a living and get paid wages or salaries. They don’t own the company or the property, they just work for it. For example, a factory worker or even a manager who gets paid a salary is an employee because they earn money by working. Even some professionals and managers are employees because their income comes from working for a company, not from owning it.

    2.

    Adam Smith’s quote says that labor is the true and real way to measure the value of things. When we buy something, like paper or furniture, the real value comes from all the work that went into making it cutting the wood, manufacturing it, advertising it, and so on. Money is just a way to show the price, but the real price is the labor behind it. This means that the effort and work of people are what really create value, not the money or the company that owns the product. So, labor is the most important part of creating anything useful or valuable. The quote is pointing out that without the workers and their effort, nothing would be produced or worth anything.

    3.

    The main idea in Reading 4.4 is that class is not just another identity like race, gender, or religion. Instead, class is about a person’s relationship to the system of work and money, especially how they depend on or control capital. This means class isn’t just about how people see themselves or how others see them, but about real power differences in society. I think this is important because if we treat class like just another identity, we might miss how it shapes everything else. For example, racial or gender inequalities are like connected to class because the people who have money and own businesses often use those inequalities to keep their power. So understanding class as a structure of power, not just an identity, helps us see the bigger picture of how oppression works and what we need to change.

    4

    Reading 4.4 explains that class depends on a close relationship between two groups: workers and capitalists. Workers need jobs to earn money to live, while capitalists need workers to produce goods and make profits. This creates a strong kind of dependency because neither group can do everything without the other. For example, workers can’t survive without earning wages, so they like depend on bosses for jobs. At the same time, bosses depend on workers to make products and run businesses that make money. This makes the system like kind of unfair because capitalists often hold more power they can decide the wages and working conditions. An example is a factory where workers do all the labor to make products, but the owners get most of the profits. Workers have to work to live, but owners don’t have to do the labor, they make money from the work of others. This shows the close but unequal dependency between workers and owners that shapes class structures.

    Posted on by Dakota Dickey

    Dakota Dickey – Module 4.2 C.R.E.A.M

    1. What is the distinction that Reading 4.3 makes between owners and employees? Give an example of each.
    • Owners are the people who own the means of production, where the employees trade their time and their labor for payment.  Owners live off of their investments and employees live off of the wages from their labor.  
    1. How do you understand the quote by Adam Smith on pg. 28? What is it saying about labor?
    • Smith is saying that labor alone is the way we have to measure all things, that labor is the true value that we must use to “estimate or compare” prices.  That money is not of real value. 
    1. What are your thoughts on the main argument of Reading 4.4 that class is NOT an identity?
    • I thought it was very interesting how they changed the view of class from lower middle and higher, to people who own capital and those whose labor.  That class is not a true identity because we all are reliant on those who own capital for our everyday means.  Whether that be the food you’re eating, the car and clothes you buy, or the work you do everyday (unless you are an investor or owner) all those things are reliant on those who own capital for you to be able to experience those luxuries in life.  
    1. 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?
    • This form of dependence is similar to what I laid out in response 3, everything we do in our day to day life is subservient to those who own the means of production, whether it is the examples that I said above or many more, we would not be able to do many things in our day to day life without those who own capital.  Their ownership of this capital allows us to fit into different roles whether it is consumer and we’re “shopping” and then grabbing a bite to eat or we’re in need of work and find a job doing really whatever, these things all rely on the ownership class to provide for us to have these experiences. 

    “Class rules everything around me
    C.R.E.A.M., get the money
    Dollar, dollar bill, y’all
    Class rules everything around me
    C.R.E.A.M., get the money
    Dollar, dollar bill, y’all”

    – “C.R.E.A.M.” by Wu-Tang Clan

    Posted on by badr salah

    4.2

    1.) Owners make money from what others do; employees work to get paid, just like a restaurant owner receives the profits, but the workers do the cooking and serving.

    2.)Adam smiths quote shows how labor creates value its saying workers do the hard part, but often don’t get the reward they’re the ones building the wealth, but not owning it.

    3.)Reading 4.4 argues that class isn’t about personal identity its about your place in the economy. You don’t feel your class, you live it based on your job or income.

    4.) The reading says class is about dependence workers depend on jobs to survive while owners depend on workers to make money for example a factory cant run without workers but those workers also need the job to pay rent and eat.

    Posted on by Arto Artinian

    Discussion Board 4.2

    1. What is the distinction that Reading 4.3 makes between owners and employees? Give an example of each.
    2. How do you understand the quote by Adam Smith on pg. 28? What is it saying about labor?
    3. What are your thoughts on the main argument of Reading 4.4 that class is NOT an identity?
    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?