21 Replies to “Week 2 – Class Structure and Inequality”

  1. “Differences of ages and sex have no longer any distinctive social validity for working class. All are instruments of labour, more or less expensive. to use, according to their age and sex.” by Karl Marx. I choose this quote because labour is very hard for everyone. Wealthy people don’t really recognize the hard work poor people are doing for a minimun wage and the ones that are just sitting down are getting the rest of the money. For them there’s no specific age to harsh work or no difference between men and woman into being a slaves. The amount of money many labour are getting from doing hard work is the amount of money that only one wealthy person is getting. This is very hard to think about having a society like that but it’s real life.

    1. “Differences of ages and sex have no longer any distinctive social validity for working class. All are instruments of labour, more or less expensive. to use, according to their age and sex.” by Karl Marx. I chose this quote because the people that work get it hard on them and the wealthy people don’t understand how the working class work for the wage they are getting for all their hard work . Also compared to the amount of they the wealthy get to the other people that work on minimum wage.

  2. After reading the article by Bob Herbert ” Losing Our Way” he gives a brief introduction of his new book. Bob Herbert wants to spark a conversation about changing our country in all positive aspects, brining it back how it use to be during the late 1950’s and 60’s.”For ordinary Americans, the story of the past several years has too often been about job cuts, falling wages, vanishing pensions and diminished expectations. Birth rates plummeted in the wake of the recession as couples put off having children for financial reasons.” Reading this quote by Bob Herbert made me feel like this is what majority of middle class Americans go through in their daily lives. These issues Bob mentioned are serious problems that people stress over in America, and living the American dream can not happen if our economy is not in a stable condition. Not having children due to financial reasons is devastating for any human, we need to find opportunities and valuable resources to strive our economy so people do not have to stress over financial problems.

  3. “The intellectual creation of individuals nations become common poverty” this quote is significant for me because it shows the importance of countries or people when developing relations with others. The relation in between two different groups help the people and the nations to grow up. It is impossible to improve without any relations because they can offer opportunities and knowledge.

  4. In the passage, “The Manifesto of Class Struggle” by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, establish a concept upon hierarchy and social class. A quote that stood out to me was when it was stated in the passage, “The modern bourgeois society that has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society has not done away with class antagonisms. It has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of the old ones” (Maxr 39). This established to me that our world still lives to these norms of who’s in a higher social class and who has more power. In our society, we have a hierarchy it has become a new modern version of who holds more power and what kind of power. Based on the past hierarchy held different types of power and privileges and if you didn’t have a high spot in the hierarchy or have a high power in society you were oppressed. This still occurs in our society. The concept is still the same but a different and modern version

  5. “ As private’s of the industrial army they are placed under the command of a perfect hierarchy of officers and sergeants. Not only are they slaves of the bourgeois Class, and of the bourgeois State, They are daily and hourly enslaved by the machine, by the over-looker, and above all, by the individual bourgeois manufacturer himself.” Karl Marx. I chose this quote because it points out the main idea of the article. It opens my eyes and helps me to realize how nonchalant rich people can be towards the lives of those in the lower classes. It also makes me think about workers who are forced to over work in not only harsh conditions but at extremely young ages. This article confirms to me that society is definitely messed up. It is also sad because it is very obvious that those in power (rich people) are the ones that have the power to change things for people in the struggle. However not all of them care about the lives of those who struggle. Sad. But this is the reality of today.

  6. The quote I chose was ” The modern bourgeois society that has spouted from the ruins of feudal society has not done away with class antagonisms. It has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of the old ones.” I chose this quote because throughout time as one society slowly diminishes alongside the social classes with it, a new one eventually will appear with different types of social classes and conflicts. In this case, the wealthy people have the power to do as they please with the amount of money they own. In order for production to happen and for market places to rise they hire workers who do all the hard work and get paid minimum wage which was unfair. In other words in order for the wealthy people to make money through productions, they would need the workers that get paid very little and a bunch of workers pay would sum up to one of the bourgeois. As they do adapt rules from feudal society with modern society, it doesn’t justify the inequality between the social classes.

  7. “The manufacturing system took its place. The guild-masters were pushed on one side by the manufacturing middle class; division of labour between the different corporate guilds vanished in the face of division of labor in each single workshop.” By Karl Marx.
    I chose this quote because ever since rich people took over the businesses of independent businessmen’s, rich people are becoming richer and richer everyday and independent businessmen’s are disappearing and low class people population is increasing.

  8. “But not only The bourgeoisie forged the weapons that bring death it self; it has also called into existence men to wield those weapons-the modern working class— The proletarians…” (Marx P-43)
    Marx’s claim can be linked to what is going on today, even though the United States has a better standard of living and some might claim the best but gun violence has been very relevant in our lives today. From mass shootings in school, clubs, place of worship, and etc one might ask why and how? From certain policies, politicians, and old world beliefs that have become the enablers of individuals to keep having guns. Men have created weapons but it has also created a people that want guns.

  9. The quote I chose was ” The modern bourgeois society that has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society has not done away with class antagonisms. It has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of the old ones. I chose this quote because over time society changes and within those changes comes different social classes, rules and regulations. In this case the bourgeois being the wealthy people find loops within the system of society but with demands rising for products they would need workers. These hard workers aren’t paid as much given the minimum wage as a group of workers would equal to one wealthy person. It’s unfair since the bourgeois have the money to do as they please, it doesn’t justify for them to pay workers so little for products that are more than what they work for. Alongside labor, working conditions are awful because if a worker gets injured to where they can’t work, one of the managers there could just replace them in an instant. It’s defective that they’re treated like tools and isn’t right at all

  10. “The bourgeoise cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society.” (Marx pg.41)
    I chose this quote because it shows the dependence we have on the working class and how that affects our society as a whole. It shows how certain people depend on other people for their success.

  11. “Differences of ages and sex have no longer any distinctive social validity for working class. All are instruments of labour, more or less expensive. to use, according to their age and sex.” by Karl Marx. I chose this quote because wealthy people don’t realize how hard poor people work for a minimum wage while the rich ones get all the money. Age and sex doesn’t matter anymore for working class, labour is hard for everyone.

  12. Masses of labourers, crowded into de factory, are organized like soldiers. As privates of the industrial army they are placed under the command of a perfect hierarchy of officers and sergeants. Not only are they slaves of the bourgeois class, and the bourgeois State, they are daily and hourly enslaved by the machine, by the over-looker, and, above all, by the individual bourgeois manufacturer himself”
    I chose this excerpt from the manifesto because it best describes the turnout of economy. The bourgeois class controls the industry, the commerce, the jobs, they control everything. It has gotten out of hand of how unfair the economy, yes they give jobs, but the pay for those jobs it’s unrighteous. I believe in the idea of communism, but I’m not sure if we’re ready for it.

  13. Quote from“The Manifesto of Class Struggle” by Karl Marx
    “Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat” by Karl Marx. I choose this quote for numerous reasons. It significantly explains the idea that there has always been a conflict between classes that have divided the society.
    And there are differences between the upper and lower classes that have affected the people in a negative way. Since the bourgeoisie are able to own property, business and do whatever they wish to increase their capital and profits whereas the proletariat are kept “down” by their insignificant wages and their difficulty in surviving with increased costs. To add on, Marx illustrates the idea that the proletariat were not treated equally and indifferent than the bourgeoisie. Such as the use of machinery and the division of labor has created the loss of all individuals character and all pleasure for the proletariat. Also, It wanted to show the fact that the bourgeoisie were improving all the instruments of production that had increased the pressure for all nations to nation. However, it leaves the proletariat with no way to exit. Basically, the upper class people were given more opportunities than the lower class, leaving lower class with no advantages and no choice of doing something that they want.So, it shows how dividing society into classes, divided the people itself. As upper class people were getting richer day by day, the lower class people were left on the same spot each day with no hope of improvement.

  14. I chose the quote“Differences of ages and sex have no longer any distinctive social validity for working class. All are instruments of labour, more or less expensive. to use, according to their age and sex.” Because I also believe that ages and sex do not matter when it comes work because it all depends on how you work not your sex or age

  15. The quote “The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation” (Marx, p40) taken from Karl Marx’s piece, “The Manifesto of Class Struggle” resonates strongly with me as a person in the working class living in a highly populated city. As the economy changes and the cost of living rises while minimum wages remain stagnant, it becomes common for middle and lower classes to live together to afford to get by. The pressure in this can sometimes weaken family bonds and relationships. From an additional perspective, those who possess wealth can have their family bonds deteriorate to mere money relations in the aspect of family members clinging and leeching to their affluent relatives for their personal benefit, with no interest in maintaining a family bond.

  16. “Differences of ages and sex have no longer any distinctive social validity for working class. All are instruments of labour, more or less expensive. to use, according to their age and sex.” As the times past further and further on age and the sex you are didn’t matter as much depending on the job. In this case the middle class and laborers it didn’t matter. People were put to many long days and getting paid a relatively low paying job. The prices of things went up as their pay remained the same. All the while the upper class had fully exploited the means of the lower classes winning this race.

  17. “The bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honored and looked up to with reverent awe. It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage-laborers. The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation.”

    I chose this quote because I feel it captures the idea of the reading very well. Marx argues that trying to keep up with an always-changing, always revolutionizing society can make us feel confined and trapped in the social “norm”, where we are brainwashed into believing we need to be societies idea of a laborer. This can affect families dramatically causing a lack of genuine love for one another.

  18. Bob Herbert introduces his new book “Losing Our Way” which reflects on how Americans/Government have let the nation down. He starts by reminding us of a recent time during 2011/2012 where the US was struggling hard financially. Herbert states “Birth rates plummeted in the wake of the recession as couples put off having children for financial reasons. The lowest birth rates ever recorded in the US were in 2011 and 2012. By then, nearly one in every four American children was poor. For black children, it was one in three.” which just gives a glimpse of how hard it was to maintain a family during the financial crisis. Couples felt that it would be better off to hold off before having a family because it would be so troubling to maintain it. Additionally, Herbert recalls a conversation he had with an Army Veteran and the disappointment he seemed to have expressed in missing the way the nation once was seeming to make it out as a “prime time” for the US. The intro to his book really gave a good explanation of how he seems to he structured the book. He is trying to enlighten his audience on how to be the change we would want to see in order to make our nation stronger financially. Herbert ties up the reading with “All of the great movements in America – from abolition and civil rights, to the labor and women’s movements and the fight for gay rights – all were led by citizens fed up with an intolerable status quo. That is how societies change. That is how America can, should, and – with the proper commitment and cooperative spirit – will change.” Meaning, if we would like to see the change we have to work for it.

  19. After reading bob herbert “loosing the way” the quote that stand out a lot is, ‘The most direct answer to the veteran’s question was that as a society we had behaved irresponsibly, self-destructively, for decades. We lost sight of the effort and sacrifice required to build and maintain a great nation. We refused to fend off the destructive excesses of free market zealots and casino capitalists. Greed was not only tolerated, but encouraged, and that led to catastrophic imbalances in wealth, income and political power. ”
    This quote stands out a lot because it demonstrates how we loosing sight of our goal and instead of improving we are destroying and becoming greedy, so it is getting out of hand. But this been happing for decades and it is still going till now.

  20. “The economy seemed to work only for the very wealthy”. I chose this quote from Bob Herbert’s excerpt, it points out how disappointed Americans are with the way our rights and benefits are being destroyed. The super-wealthy and the government play blind when it comes to defending war veterans and worker’s benefits. We live in a society where having a good degree does not guarantee you financial stabilization. In this excerpt, we see a good example of this issue with Guntar Lakis who is an Architect who found himself lost in ‘The economic nightmare’. The big question many Americans have is what happened?. Job cuts, falling wages, and vanishing pensions are some of the wounds that were caused by wealthy Americans and the government. Greed and self-destructively actions are to blame for this epidemic. Herbert highlights the power Americans have when we decide to fight for what is right, his hope is for people to take action and change the society for the better. We need to stand and fight for justice.

Leave a Reply to Gloria Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *