1. Based on the arguments presented in readings 6.1 and 6.2, the social class that wrote the constitution were the capitalist class. This class was believed to be smart and disciplined enough to stay rich while having innovative ideas. The class that were excluded from participating in the process were the working class. This class is believed to be the working class because of laziness or because they lacked knowledge which is why it was justified that they didn’t contribute to the constitution. Hence why the constitution only works for some and not for others. The “others” become the many in the society who don’t benefit, like Alexander Hamilton said “all communities divide themselves into the few and the many” (Parenti, page 8). 
2.  I think that the social class structure of early United States society was the same as ours today because I feel as though the constitution was very well thought out and it kept the structures of society as is. Of course there have been alterations to make it seem like things were changing but it is all essentially the same. For example, back then the oppressed were newly freed African Americans who didn’t land or any form of wealth. Today the oppressed are still the African Americans even though we don’t see it so obviously expressed. 
3. The people who wrote the constitution were afraid of democracy because they considered democracy to be the rule of the common people. Democracy meant that the common people would get involved with the government. This is bad because if the working class got too involved with the government, then they would also start being benefitted, this is the part that made the capitalist afraid. 

1. The statistic on wealth inequality in the US that made the biggest impression on me was the statistic that stated that ” the”richest ” 20 per- cent, you need to earn only $75,000”. This surprised me because $75,000 is only considered upper middle class meaning that “only” 20 percent of Americans are upper middle class. It just made me think about how rich the one percent really has to be. Even more surprising is the fact that it is just 1 percent while everybody else fits into categories of 20 percent. 
2.    Some of the implications of living in a society that has huge wealth inequalities can be lost of right and voice followed by inflation. Money is believed to be power and so when only 1 percent has enough money for power, the rest of the public is disregarded. This is followed by inflation because since only the wealthy are privileged, prices skyrocket to their range. This leaves the other classes with less opportunities, more health issues and less job availability. This is a dynamic that is played out in society, not only with class but race also. There is an obvious trend where kids born into families in lower classes have little to no chances of social mobility. An example can be seen in education, which kids get to access the best schools?

Capitalists maintain and increase their wealth because they start the equation M-C-M off with money. This means that they don’t even sell a commodity in order to receive money to buy another commodity. It is harder when somebody has to sell a commodity to gain money because now they have to buy something more valuable than the commodity they have sold for the same price they were given for said commodity. When M-C-M ends with money or capital, more money than the initial amount, the capitalists can invest and keep the trend going.

1.  The way I understand the means of production and labor is that means of production equal labor. Means of production is how much work you put into an organization that is privately owned. Labor connects to this because labor is what you sell to the owner of a privately owned organization. An example of labor can be the time you put in working as a cashier. While you are cashiering you make the money you take home but you still have to keep working until the end of your shift for the money the company keeps. In a successful business you will make 3 times what you are getting paid for that day, but only take home ⅓ of that part. The means of production would be who you are working for and how you sell your labor to them. 
2. According to the video, value is measured by how much labor it takes to produce something under normal circumstances. What makes something valuable is the amount of time and dedication you spend making such things. “Pre-training” or education can give more value to something because it is also the labor you have put in to get something out of it. 
3.   Labor and value are related because you have to put labor into something to make it valuable. Labor and time itself can also be valuable depending on your expertise. An example I can think of is school or experience. The longer you spend in school or in the company the more value your work will have. 
4.    The difference to me between labor and labor power is that labor can to me is any work you put in whether personal or for others. Labor can also mean schooling. Labor power has a more in-depth definition. For firsts it can only be found in people and it is renting out your time to labor for someone else. For labor power you need things like clothing, food and shelter which are the reasons you work but the rest of your work goes to who you’re working for. 
5.        Surplus value is the labor you put in that only benefits your boss. This means that you make the products and only your boss receives the profit. Of course you get paid, but your work is way more valuable than what you are getting paid. Surplus value is important to know in our study of social classes because there is a trend within classes where some benefit from surplus value and others don’t. An example of surplus value can be the scenario I gave in my answer for question 1 about the cashier. She can bring home ⅓ or less if the money she receives in the cash register while her employer keeps the rest.

1. A Repressive State apparatus is an apparatus that controls the population, keeping everything together. It is usually violence and seen as a police force and prison. Althusser calls it “Repressive” because with this type of control from the government people would be scared to express their opinion and will repress them because they are scared of the consequences. This is why we are taught in school to be obedient, if we are not it is followed by things like detention and a call home. Fear is implanted into us from the school system as kids to society when we are adults. 
   
2. Ideological State Apparatuses are more psychosocial. Like stated in the previous response, they start in school. In school we start learning about the government, how it works and from there we start to have our own beliefs. This of course can be influenced by what we are taught in the first place. The perspective of teachers is also important because they are who we learn from. 
   
3. Repressive and Ideological apparatuses are different because Repressive apparatuses are used to plant fear in us while Ideological apparatuses are used to train us. I’d say that Repressive apparatuses are more physical while Ideological apparatuses are more psychological. 
   

I believe that the “School-to-prison pipeline” is a repressive apparatus because we are punished and threatened in school for misbehavior but then we go out to a society where we are also punished and threatened. We are trained to think this a normal procedure. 

1. Ideology is the beliefs that we have as individuals that leads us to identify with a specific political party. We all come from different backgrounds and we have different needs and wants; these needs and wants are what makes us decide which party is more convenient for us. Race, ethnicity, and social class are a big influence on whether we are far right, center or far left. 

       For example, minorities like Latinos and African Americans who are politically involved tend to choose to support the center left and far left which is the Liberal party. To better understand why it is important to note the characteristics of the Liberal left. The Liberal left believes in things like decreasing the money invested in the military and using more towards social causes, a big government who is involved with the public and higher taxes. The higher taxes are used for things like welfare and more government involvement. Minorities who are in need and need support from the government are likely to be in the center left through far left. 

     Some people won’t like all the qualities of a party but one fits them better than others. Like said in the video “Althusser on Capitalist Ideology and State Apparatus”, political parties are all similar; they just make us feel like we have a choice. There is an ideology for everyone, and for each one there is a political side. With this said, nothing changes but the position. 

2. I understand the difference between the conservative and liberal ideology in US politics because I see conservative as being more capitalists. The Conservatives support the corporate elites and  lower taxes because they believe “rich and poor pretty much get what they deserve” (Parent, 52). While Liberals believe in “advancing education, providing jobs for everyone able to work, sufficient aid to the disabled…” (Parenti, 55). In conclusion, the division line would be that one side (Conservatives) supports having a very few people be successful while the other side (Liberals) supports more involvement of the government with people in need. 

3. I understood that Althusser’s position on ideology was that he thought all was the same. He believes that while people have the illusion of having a choice they will remain calm. This means that all sides have the same purpose but they mask it into different ideas so the public has a choice. Through different apparatuses like the entertainment apparatus the population is blind to what is really happening politically. 

1.   Southern racist politicians choose to frame their defense of racial segregation through the language of “law and order” because with this language it was easier for them to put the blame on The Civil Right movement to accomplish separation and oppression. The special advantages that these choices of words were going to give them is that they didn’t infringe the law by using racist language, but they were still able to target black citizens. “Law and order” language from politicians promoted voters to reject the Civil Rights movement and vote for politicians who promised to get rid of time.

2.    I do deeply believe that the Southern Strategy is still influencing American politics because every candidate still promises the same thing which is that they will work on crime but to them that means incarcerating. Now that a pattern is set for the failure of black people it’s easier for the government to say it’s them. And I say pattern because most minority kids grow up with a family member in jail. This affects how they view the world, it’s normalized when it should be. So now it’s up to the politicians to point a finger at what is going on like during the War on Drugs. 

1.   Michelle Alexander claims that the main explanation of why so many people are sent to jail in the U.S. today is deeply wrong because she believes that sentencing policies are more one sided. This means that minorities are more likely to go to jail than “elite” races for the same crime. Furthermore she believes that racial disparities in drug related crimes and people sent to prison said more than enough about the government’s plan against people of color. Politicians started “using coded anti black rhetoric” to gain votes from whites who were also against segregation. They started promising to get rid of crime which really meant they’ll find a way to deal with people of color or minorities, finding a new Jim Crow. This is another point that Alexander made as to why it is wrong that so many people are sent to jail in the U.S. Top top it of, the United States is the country with the highest incarceration rates. 
2.     Racial disparities in the rates of incarceration can not be explained by rates of drug crimes because essentially all races do drugs and acquire drugs the same. This means that the rates are unequal due to government policies and laws. Minorities get harsher punishment for the same drugs carried by other superior races. 
3.     I understand the phrase “the American penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world history” as meaning that the penal system is different from any other form of oppression we have faced. This may be because now racist language is very well hidden and things that aren’t obviously there go unseen or disregarded. Now policies are stronger and lean towards benefitting one race over the other in the American penal system.