'Power is rooted in the control of coercive force and in the control of the means of production. However, in capitalist societies this reality is not legitimized by rendering the powerful divine, but obscuring their existence.' - Poor People's Movement Article Read this article on the relationship between power and class. Within the political system participation is highly regulated by access to a variety of resources. This article highlights the various barriers to political participation and the use and misuse of power within the government. Read the article attached here.
In 150 words (minimum) answer the following questions. Be sure to respond to ONE other student.
68 Comments
Ariana Ortega
10/15/2013 03:07:32 am
Comment deleted
Michael Le
2/19/2015 05:55:23 am
The three major themes in this article were institutionalized power, poor people's inevitable struggle, and protests. I learned that the American political institution perpetuates many inequalities. Our political institution is leading us to believe that the rich deserve their luxuries and the poor deserve their hard lives. Poor people are taught to believe that someone needs to do the hard job and that the rich people are rich because they have put in many more years of hard work to get where they are. Poor men and women just conform to their lives no matter how hard it is because they feel like they can't do any better and that it is inevitable. But once in a while, people rebel and start protests. But even than, protests are centered around the features of the government that it is rebelling against. So again, the rich is still controlling the poor by creating rules that makes the poor protest. I see my family and I as part of the poor people. Violent protests is the form of political participation that I see in my community.
lena coletto
2/19/2015 12:54:05 pm
You're right about America perpetuating inequalities, because America's foundation is based on inequality. America was built from slavery suffering and genocide. People have been taught to accept certain things through a process of being numbed. Poor education has led to easy manipulation as well as alcohol. I am a strong believer that alcohol keeps the majority of people numb, and inactive because of not caring.
Emerson Lovato
2/19/2015 04:46:32 pm
I agree with you, and I believe this has been structured to keep the poor as poor and the rich as rich. The rich need a work force and cheap labor to manipulate this structure because if the poor get high paid jobs then the rich don't make the amount of wealth they want to make so they pay less for the same amount of work and they end up making ten times more than what they would have made in the beginning. The need of cheap labor and resources has shaped the way the wealth of this country works.
Hang Nguyen
4/30/2015 01:36:51 pm
I agreed. And add one more thing is the power of money, rich people, they have a lot of money, so they control money, but poor people, money controls them. They are struggle with debts and trying to get on with their lives that sometimes they believe that's the way things should be, since they have been living with poverty their whole life already. So they feel ok with it.
LENA COLETTO
2/19/2015 12:34:39 pm
The three themes that jump out at me in this article are; the lesser fortunate (the masses) having limited choices, acting as machines in a cemented structure, and being controlled, brainwashed, and conditioned. Each of these themes are heavily in place and connected.
Fode Cheick Toure
2/24/2015 05:49:43 pm
I agree with you. I believe that protesters mostly go after people that have nothing to about the situation they are living in. Small business owners are often victims of the same corrupt political system.
Huimin huang
2/25/2015 03:05:16 pm
I agree with you. People are been stuffing this in their mine. Poor people are getting more poor is because the controls from the wealthy but also the poor people thinks that's the way things should be. So they can not do more to improve their life or change their lifes and themself. Therefore they don't have power because they don't have money. And the government will just keep ignoring the poor people. Because that will not hurt the wealthy and the government. And the society will keep go on and go on like this forever.
Rayvonne Evans
4/30/2015 04:14:03 pm
Oh my god you absolutely hit the nail on the head! Its really crazy when you think about how people really believe that this is the only reality and that this reality is somehow okay. People seem to be ok with being poor as if they weren't born to be able to be or anything. It saddens me and breaks my heart to see the American public so blind and brainwashed. How could anyone think its ok for people to be poor, hungry, and homeless and that somehow that's all they deserve. How is it that the rich deserve what they have and the poor don't? What even makes them special? What did they honestly do to deserve an abundance of wealth and not have to share? This system is ridiculous but whats more absurd is the public's unwillingness to do something about it.
Emerson
2/19/2015 04:38:30 pm
The three major themes for this reading were Social Location and Forms of Defense, The Limited Impact of Mass Defiance, and Institutional Limits On The Incidence of Mass Insurgency. By doing this reading, I learned that American Political Institutions have manipulated the country in a very efficient but inhumane way. Since, it's beginnings the poor have been held back to make sure they don't make wealth so the rich white folks keep making more and more wealth. It's all tied with cheap labor and having a work force to continue to establish the structure of American Political Institutions. I see me and my family as a part of the work force needed to continue making wealth for the wealthy and not doing much for ourselves. Apparently, the rich are supposed to get richer and the poor are set to be poor for the rest of their lives even if they work really hard. I have seen a lot of people trying to fight back in my community, usually by protesting and getting involved in all types of defiant activities to make sure poor people have a chance to improve their lifestyle.
Roy Christopher
2/27/2015 03:44:12 am
Well stated I understand what you are getting at. Like the article said too, they put you in positions that make you think your dependable, but you really aren't. Also just like how you said the poor are being held back and kept poor. It's like glass cieling as well you can say.They also see you as someone easy to replace and they'll probably hire someone to do your job at a cheap price, if you refuse to work. Which ties in to cheap labor like you said.I hope what I'm saying make sense and I sound clear but yea I understand.
Yvette Castillo
2/28/2015 11:25:31 am
I agree with you Roy. They ususally do that all the time, they interview a few people and hear diff desire wages from them then the manager ends up picking the person that they can pay less to. It happened to a lot of people I know. Its cruel, because sometimes they rather hire people that would take the job and get paid less rather than hiring someone with a degree...BUT it also depends , on a lot of other things
jacob bandel
2/19/2015 06:23:52 pm
Three major themes i got in the article are ,the poor man's struggle, institutionalized power, and protests. this taught me that my country's political institution keeps much bia’s. Our political institution is telling us to think that they need wealth and need their luxuries and the poor deserve their hard lives. Poor people are taught to think that someone somewhere has to do the tough work and that the rich people have their wealth because they have put in so many more years of work.People in poverty just conform to their way of life because they feel like they can't anything better, But once in a while they rebel with protests. Even then protests are based around features of the government that it’s protesting against. So again we see that the rich is still in control of the poor by molding thoughts of the protesters. Violent protests is still a form of political participation that I see in my country.
Nafi Watson
2/24/2015 07:46:54 am
I agree with you on how rich people are viewed in life. While becoming a Young Adult into being an adult, we are taught that we need to work hard in order to become rich, but most of the time that is mot true. most rich people are born into their lifestyle and they do not realize how hard it is to actually work for something.
Qin Chen
2/27/2015 03:02:44 pm
What you said made me feel that the hope of your country is dying. I think thought died then hope will die, and this is what your country do. I do agree the rich is rich is because they accumulate wealth from hard working. However this does not mean there is no hope from the poor. The poor still can do what the rich did to be rich. Is terrible that your country kill this thought from the poor.
jorge ferrer
2/20/2015 06:30:46 am
the three major themes from this reading was how the wealth controls everything, it also talked about protest or riots and thirdly it talked about how the poor struggle in society. i actually learned that most protest start due to people not voting or not been involved in the political movement. therefor when something is happening for example like a vote that passed then the poor protest and make have riots due to the anger they feel inside. thats just what i understood from the reading. i actually dont participate within the political community due to me not born here in the u.s, since i can not vote i have never cared about what goes on or the government just been honest but i know i will have to change that soon. ill start voting once im allowed to do so. its true about people who got money control us. i think of this as top drug dealers who get money. you have money you control people i was raised in oakland and the type of life i went through thats how it works you have money you can do and control the things you do. a little off topic but im just trying to relate.
Michael Le
2/25/2015 04:53:29 am
I understand where you are coming from and I agree with you. I agree that money controls almost everything, whether it is directly or indirectly. Having wealth can give you credibility and with credibility you gain the people's trust. When you have the people's trust you can propose a solution with hidden agendas that secretly benefit yourself.
A.J. Roderos
2/23/2015 01:22:40 pm
Three major themes from this article are the inequalities of social classes, the dynamics of the political system, and the concept of responding to political issues. I learned that American political institutions have their own ways of formulating and manipulating the masses that seeks attention. As stated in the text, when protesters “succeed” in forcing the government to attend to their needs, protesters do not have the power to dictate the context of the government’s response. In other words, the government can offer a solution to a particular issue, yet only to a certain extent that provides satisfaction for the protesters. Provided by the author, I can see some of my family members being in the margin where social status will have weak political institutions. This is problematic because according to the text, they have “little ability to protect themselves.” In my community, people reply to the government by the voting process. Most of the time, wealthier people benefit from certain propositions, which is unfair for the lower classes.
Fode Cheick Toure
2/24/2015 06:46:59 am
The three major themes in this article were the struggle of the people, protests and riots that have little impacts on people's lives, and the the corrupt institutional structures that protect the rich and wealthy, and promote injustice an inequality.
jorge ferrer
2/25/2015 10:05:35 am
yea i agree i feel like people with money get more benefits and the poor get less. i am also a working class, my boss owns his own businesses and has a couple of gas stations i work for him to help him make profit and get him richer. i also agree with what you said about protesters getting beat up by the police. sometimes i feel like the police over think their authority on others and get carried away by hurting us even sometimes the innocent.
Nafi WATSON
2/24/2015 08:18:58 am
The three themes in this article were poor people, how the wealthy controlled a lot of things, and the protests and riots. What I learned about the American political instructions that they made it to where they brainwash us to believe that we need to be rich and to become rich you have to work hard. But this goes against all of what they did back in the day with them enslaving people to make a profit off of people. So how can we work hard to get rich when America was too lazy to lift a finger to feed them? I see myself in this framework by being born into this lower class that the rich has created and having to work hard to become rich, I see why the protesters get so mad because they constantly have to fight to prove that they are worth being a rich person. I feel like the political participation in my community is all of the voting that happens and the government changes laws for the “poor people”. Well the connections I see are that the rich has all the power and the “poor people” are powerless due to the rich not seeing them as equals.
Erik Hoffmann
2/26/2015 12:10:59 pm
I agree with you entirely. The public has been brainwashed to believe that they need wealth in order to be happy, so people sign themselves away to debt and become a slave to the debt system. There is definitely a system in place to keep the lucky few richer than the rest of the lower classes combined and to keep the rest of the classes to compete in a rat race that cant be won.
Shameim Lowther
4/6/2015 03:15:04 pm
liang zhang
2/28/2015 10:51:18 am
i am agree with you, poor people trying to wrok hard to become rich people, but not so many of poor people become rich . but the rich people dont really have to working hard to get whatever they want to get. cause they are rich, they have alot of powers. that makes me really sad. cause we cant choose my mother and father, why im the one working so hard , and cant even get the life i wanted, but the rich people when they born , they already have everything. that is just not right for me.
Maurice L. Ainsworth
2/25/2015 10:56:19 am
The three themes I've found were; The socioeconomic status of the protesters, will determine how seriously their protesting will be taken. Collective consciousness is the prelude to protest. It will take something monumental to make the poor hopeful.
Angela Tam
2/25/2015 03:39:58 pm
I took away the same understanding. Basically if you aren't disrupting the flow of cash, your cause isn't worth anyones times. Standing up for moral justice isn't enough because people don't seem to care unless there is economic gain or you are causing economic loss. Also, something that I took away was that lower incomes have no rights to change anything. They have to be pushed to the point of protest and the only ones with the power to change anything are the ones in power which are the ones with money. So money = power and low income = powerless. The low incomes conditions are determined by the ones with all of the money. Those with low incomes have to fear loss of their job, their house, and even their belongings. While the ones with money have nothing to fear because they control everything.
Qin Chen
2/25/2015 11:16:40 am
The three major themes that I got from the article is the institution of power, the stabilization of the institution and the fragileness of people’s movement.
Lin Chen
2/27/2015 11:05:40 am
I agree with your point that the political institution is inequalities, and as you mentions the the political system does not work well for the situation which poor people are facing, I think there is a significant reason that protests by the poor becomes useless is that the poor have been lost their belief that the poor are poor because of their own doing ,and they accept the status they are treated.
steven gissentanner
2/25/2015 12:53:01 pm
The three major themes I got from this article is institutions Power, Poor mans struggle, protest. The article said that power is the root to control or force. In the article it explains that power by wealth has some type of control on the society. I learned that behind every source of power in the society theres some type of wealth that controls the what you can say behind the scene. The farmers protest because they felt that their rights where being violated. The article only singled out poor people to start strikes and protest because they feel like their being treated wrong. I learned that the political institutions enforce and apply the laws to the economical and social system. I couldn't see my community being under such power. I dont think I could work for a place that dont give me some type of benefits and I wouldn't want to put my family through something like that.
Lin Chen
2/25/2015 12:57:11 pm
The three themes I've found were the institutionalized power, poor people’s struggle, and the limitation and opportunities of mass protest. After reading this article, I learned that the American political institutions is inequalities. The reading mentioned the point “coercive force can be used to gain the control of the means of producing wealth.....these two sources of power tend over time to be drawn together within one ruling class.”which means rich people and powerful people can control the product of the country, and since these two kind of people can be unity, and they can hold the right on their hand. And the reason the poor becomes poorer is the poor lost their voice of protest. Because most of the rich people are the fist class people, they will not let the protest which will overturn the control and reduce their benefit happen.Thus the protest becomes limit and useless. Since the voice of protest is weak,and some poor people has been lost their belief, and they are satisfied with the status they are facing.
Raynard Anderson
2/25/2015 03:11:43 pm
i agree with you i think the main point of the article was don't become complacent because politicians aren't going to change things for the better of us on their own, they only help if we force them to make changes closed mouths don't get fed.
Shameim Lowther
4/6/2015 03:22:51 pm
Politicians are pawns of hope and change-but when in office they dont have much control-so the promises they make they cant always fulfill and the people get upset but its a system of rules they are locked into. So we as a people need to protest, stand up and support our politicians who want to make a change and advocate and put policies such as laws we want to pass out there.
Thomas Baire
2/25/2015 02:18:07 pm
The three themes were power institutionalized by the powerful, the struggles of the poor, and protests by the poor. American political institutions encourage inequalities. Americans as a people have been brainwashed to believe that everything should stay the way it is, and the poor are poor because of their own doing. Personally, growing up in a socialist country opened my eyes to a much better way of life with security and where things made sense. My family is the kind of family which tries to remove themselves as much as they can from political movements of any sort. Growing up i was taught that trying to understand politics was like trying to decipher hieroglyphics. So growing up with that mentatlity i tried my hardest to not be aware of the political changes happening around me. My participation in the community has been very sparse and looking back on it i highly regret it because people like me are the ones that can do so much to better the community. I relate to the sense of feeling powerless in the sense that i could would see things wrong around my neighbor hood and brush them off as being someone else's problem and that i could do nothing to help solve it.
Harin Yoon
2/25/2015 03:57:37 pm
For me, immigrating to America was harder for me to understand what is really going on politically. It was too confusing for me that I also decided that Im not going to really care for it. But I do think that I also could have impacted a lot more in the past if I was aware of whats happening around the world. I guess it is up to what we really can do in the future for our communities. Its not too late! :)
liang zhang
2/25/2015 02:18:19 pm
From the article i found three main themes are, institution's power,poor people struggle, and protest. American political institutions is inequalities. The upper class people which are the rich people they have much knowledge. they know how to protect themselves. but poor people get limit knowledge, they dont really know how to protect themselves, and also , poor people have very limited source.the rich people will make themselves more rich, poor people will keep staying poor. onec a while, poor people may protest, but nothing really havent been changed. the rich people just have so much power, they pretty much can control everything. Im the one of the lower class group, im still trying to survive. i wanna be rich , but family is poor, so . i cant really do much.
Bolortsetseg Jargalsaikhan
2/26/2015 06:31:50 am
HI, Liang
Luna Flores
2/26/2015 01:40:34 pm
I agree that the rich find ways of keeping us blind to the problems they impose on their workers in order to keep them from speaking up against them. Then when the workers finally want to protect themselves of get better working conditions they don’t know how to effectively make a change. But I do think when finding the right method and who to go to a protest can be effective, more so if in a position that can make a change.
Tory Burleson
2/25/2015 02:33:45 pm
The three themes that stuck out to me in this article were: protests- with what means does each individual have to make an impact, coercion- how the powers at hand get the masses to get back in their hamster wheels, and finally the limited impact that these disruptions cause in the political and institutional sense.
Huimin huang
2/25/2015 02:56:43 pm
The three major themes from the reading is struggle of poor people, political institutional structure and the protest. I learn that American political institutions is not treated poor people as equally as rich people. Wealthy controls the poor people. But this is not only in America. it is everywhere in the world also. The rich people have wealth so they have the power to controls the lower class people. And the lower class people think that is the way that suppose to be. And the this society make people think like that also. Lower class people don't have high education, they don't have much knowledge,so rich people can easily controls lower class people. Lower class people work for the rich people to make the rich people more wealthy. Rich people are making a lot of money, but the rich people are only paying the lower class people that works for them a little amount of money which is the minimum rate pay. that makes them can't get higher pay jobs because no matter how hard they work to make the wealthy more richer,no matter how much money the lower class people make for the rich people. The lower class people will only get the minimum rate of pay. So lower class people gets poor. And that keeping lower class people stay poor forever. Even they wil do some protests sometimes, that won't help because the government isn't treating them both equally. That's why the wealthy gets richer and the poor people gets more poor and poor. This is how the American political institutions is. And I see me and my family are in the lower working class is in the same situation like that. And the political participation in my community is look like voting and demonstrations. Of course the protests aren't always work, because government will first please the wealthy then poor. That's how it is. And that what people think in their mind also. People is been giving this kind of information in their head and passing around. So we have today's American political institutions.
Dongho Kim
2/27/2015 02:26:15 pm
Yeah it is definitely true that government is not treating people of lower class equally as people of high class, even though lower class people outnumbers high class. Many people thinks that this way cannot be changed with I think is problematic. American political institutions had impact on this to happen which is something more people should know about.
Raynard Anderson
2/25/2015 03:08:36 pm
I learned that as power is by default given to the majority but it can be slowly taken away as long as the minority keeps the majority subjugated into believing that they have power or just breaking their will all together to have power because it would just be easier to give your power and the responsibility that comes with it to someone else, thats why many people dont go out to vote, or to city counsel meetings, or even to community events because we have become so complacent with the idea that we have the power still and that we can at anytime exercise that power to help ourselves but dont feel like it right now. Which is crazy because most of the time the ruling party likes to look out for their own social group which if and most times it is a rich person he's going to look out for his self and his friends which is why we haven't seen taxes rise for the rich or any real changes because if things are working out for your social group that you were elected into office to help are you really going to change the rules for people who seem alien to your way of life and who you were taught to look down on. that's why we have many problems with the 1% 99% argument nowadays and nothings really changing because their protecting their own so they hold the power. as long as they can control your mind they can control your actions and make you feel powerless and go through life in quiet desperation.
Angela Tam
2/25/2015 03:36:04 pm
The three major themes from the reading were:
Erkhes Bat-erdene
2/26/2015 04:22:35 pm
I agree with you that Americans are very docile. I hate that the “American Dream” is perpetually spewed from every corner of the planet as if it was the only factual thing on the planet. Millions of people have migrated to America just for this absurd notion of the “American Dream.” I like the approach you are taking with your daughter!
Tonivi Truong
2/25/2015 03:40:38 pm
The three major theme of the article are difference in the lifestyles of the upper and lower social classes, the restrictions of a mass protest and things have to be in favorable circumstances for the people who are part of the contract, and the structure of the political institution.
Tory Burleson
2/27/2015 05:38:15 pm
I agree with you on the importance of unity... because if we can unify different people from different social classes and races then the point that united group wants to make might actually be heard. We have to start realizing that just because things might not affect us directly in the present they might become our problem or our children's problem in the future. So to be able to empathize with another person's struggle is key. Fight for things that are right not just the things that are right for us individually.
Harin Yoon
2/25/2015 03:47:18 pm
First point is that rebellion from poor class happens only during the time of big change. Second point was that people only rebel in certain way depending on the institution they work for. Third point is that the political impact of institutional disruption depends upon electoral condition. I learned that American political institution is very centered around the objective of the institution rather than trying to operate around fairness and equality for their workers. For example, an institution will try to find an agreement between their workers and themselves, only if the problem becomes bigger and cannot control their workers from rebelling. It was sad to read that these happen only when there is a big change in the society. Why can’t the institution find a way to fairness before the problems are aroused? This kind of problems will affect everyone, including my family and myself. Since we are minors in this country, we probably will face unfair treatments around the institution and will have to fight for our justice. My community is very engaging to participate in politics if the event is going to help our community. They will try their best to vote and spread the words about the reformation but unless it is something that will benefit them at the end, I don’t think they will be as active with it.
Harin Yoon
2/25/2015 03:51:34 pm
I forgot to add my experience. I can see myself in the powerlessness since I am a minority. I feel like I have to try harder to find jobs and benefits around this country in order to be helped. I want to participate in protests and fights against the problems but at times I get scared to do so... I get scared that if my voice will be heard even if I tried. I do not know if there will be many people supporting me or the same problem.
Dongho Kim
2/25/2015 03:56:23 pm
Three themes in this articles were the struggle of the poor people, power relating to wealth, and the protests and riots. Political institutions in America consists only of people with high social standards of living, in other word rich and wealthy. They try to manipulate people to become rich, but in reality this is not possible because only people with wealth are getting richer and people with low income stay poor. I believe that with big corporation taking all the business and expanding and sharing their powers with other big corporation, smaller business cannot compete with them to be successful. There is actually not much political participation in my community, which I believe is problematic. We know there are inequalities in the political institutions, but we do not actually try to do anything about it because we are not aware of things we could do. Not much people actually participates in protests and voting because of unawareness. I actually have met some people who are actively participating to help change things for inequalities and poor people. They tried to gather many people who were aware of these inequalities and let more people learn about what they can do about it. Although protests might not be much effective to change things, it is a way to let people’s voices to be heard.
Roy Christopher
2/25/2015 06:05:20 pm
The three major themes in the article are protest, wealth control, and the oppression on the poor. One thing I learned about was Institutional disruption. How a lot of the poor are kept from being involved in institutional participation with the places they work. So they can’t really use disruption as a method to fight back. They can’t refuse work for a fair agreement like a doctor or farmer can. They aren’t being depended on for anything. So anything they refuse to do won’t matter. Then when the managers counterattack there isn’t much the lower class can do to stay protect themselves. Its a bit confusing to me at the same time though. Because if we are already coming together as a group and not working all together then that means no production. So it kind of is a weapon for lower class like the article said. Although really we still don’t have much power with it as you think you would because they placed you in a position to wear your not dependable.They want you to think you're important but you really not. So when you refuse they have a reprisal to use on you. With that said the poor are stuck being poor, and the rich continue getting what they want and becoming richer. The rich have their demands met while the poor is ignored and told to abide by their rules.The Institution doesn’t want to see us as dependable and equal compared to the rich. My community political participation is voting, protesting, and speaking out for whats right. People fighting for fair chances, equality, and a better lifestyle.
Bolortsetseg Jargalsaikhan
2/26/2015 05:54:51 am
Sorry for posting late, I had connection problem with the internet last night when I tried to post it, and I had struggles with the article (vocabularies) for couple days.
Patrianna Douglas
3/10/2015 09:24:26 am
I agree with you on the governments use of using fear tactics to prevent people from standing up and also causing the general community to turn against those protesting in their favor. Also, I hope you and your family can one day feel accepted and that your voice matters and we will have a platform for you to express your concerns and opinions more openly.
Erik Hoffmann
2/26/2015 11:20:28 am
[Sorry for the late post. I ran into some problems with my internet connection and only recently found some Wi-Fi i can use in the mean time.]
Luna Flores
2/26/2015 01:33:52 pm
anqi sun
2/26/2015 03:03:09 pm
According to what the author mentioned in the article, one of the first themes I have learned is that power is never equally contributed. Even in the best countries like America, our thought and moral view is also decided by those people who are in the top of the society. In fact, I personally agree with what the author thinks, since it is actually a great fact we cannot ignore in the society. In my community for instance, our opportunity of participating the politics is mainly decided by some factors of who you are and where you are from. It could be almost impossible to be even a senator if you don’t have properties. The second theme I have learned from this article is how to get the limit of the insurgency. According to what the author mentioned in this article, in most of the time in human history. People keep quiet and obey what the society arranged. But things will usually change when people feel unsatisfied for the inequality, and if we need to stop the protest, what we need to do is to reach a dislocation. As a person who lived in the United States, I believe that this phenomenon is very common in our society. But still I don’t think reaching such an agreement, what we need to think about is a possible solution if we are not able to do with the problem. Despite these factors, the last theme I learned from this article was the limit of political mass defiance. One thing we need to think about is the impact of the protest. Sometimes, a protest about one issue could be very successful if the leader was smart enough. Under such a leader, it could usually cause greater response than many people expected.
Erkhes Bat-erdene
2/26/2015 04:17:58 pm
The three major themes in this article was the struggle of poor people, the opulence and power of the wealthy, and protests and riots. The American Political Institutions are very heavily skewed in favor of the rich, because they are the ones with the most money, and money equals power in our society. Many of our elected officials at a national level have spent millions advertising their campaign using the money of the rich, in favor of getting in the good graces of the said officials so that they may be of some benefit later on. The rich just get richer and the poor just get poorer--that is the concept of capitalism. For someone to profit and gain, another has to be the victim. Me and my family are of lower middle class, and we work for the entrepeneurs that make huge amounts of profit. We are the poor, working to get the richer even richer, in hopes of one day being in that favorable position. The concept on which this country was conceived backs up this notion of the importance of wealth and power. The "American Dream" is the idea of a hard-working average person being able to rise in wealth because of their hard work--but this is seldom the case. Riots and protests are happening daily--whether it be police brutality, union rights, or just for improvement. Teachers are protesting around the country daily to receive better benefits and pay because they get rat shit for pay and that's an atrocity. The politicians always ramble on about how the future of America is on our kids, yet they will not invest in the people who will teach these kids how to succeed.
Jazmyn Brown
2/27/2015 05:20:12 am
I agree, the struggle of the lower class and the entitlements of the upper class tied directly into the authors definition and cause for riots and was the main point of this article. And I too feel like the government has a system in place to ensure the lower class must work in order to survive, but to also contribute to the continued and consistent wealth of the upper class.
Jazmyn Brown
2/27/2015 05:14:07 am
The first major theme I got from the reading was that power is defined by whoever is in control of the distribution of resources as well as the use of coercive force. Secondly, protests can be the only resource for those impoverished groups and individuals to challenge the system that society has put into place. Lastly the government will conform to the desires of the protestors only when it poses a threat to society as a whole. Or, if the risk of using force against the protestors is too great because of the unpredictable reaction of those who the protestors may have won sympathy with.
Yvette Castillo
3/10/2015 05:44:32 am
The three important themes i got from this article called, "On the relationships between the Power and Class" are the institutionalized power, protests and the struggles of the poor. It stated that the people with the power are the people with the control of the means of production in other words the people at the top of the hierarchy. This also gives them the power to discriminate others as lower class by putting people with very low income in a label as being poor and worthless. To go on with the second theme it really makes sense for protests to be in action and try and change the system for the better of the people that has been labeled of lower class. Yet to them we are still powerless people. Wealthy controls the poor and are not treated the same as the rich. American political institutions work in a way of serving the rich first and leaving the poor last. My family and I are in the same situation right now living in the lower class trying to move up like everyone else yet by reading these articles it really makes me think about all the rights that us Americans have, but are these rights real for us to take advantage and make a change or are they just placed in a piece of paper ?
Guadalupe Hernandez
4/4/2015 06:20:13 pm
I do agree with your idea that the wealthy control the poor, and view them as worthless, yet receive as much profit from them as possible. I also like the fact that you look at the big picture of our said to be rights as Americans, and exactly how much of those we have in reality.
Patrianna Douglas
3/11/2015 01:32:47 pm
The three major themes I found presented in the reading were the belief and structures imposed on poor by those in power to keep order, how a movement such as protest or rioting begins amongst the poor, and the way in which those in power quell the uprising of the poor to stay within power. This article opened my eyes to the well crafted and balanced structures put into place by American political institutions that only exist in order to keep those under the government in order without making them feel they have lost their rights. In other words, there are many systems such as the voting system which create a false sense of freedom but still have predetermined outcomes. For example the voting system is seen as one of the largest freedoms in America, the thought that the people pick their leader while in fact that is not completely accurate. When we go to vote we are voting on a set of predetermined candidates that have been chosen to be on the polls through fundraising of other elite, government, and those in more control of the people. Each candidate represents a different plan that will be set into motion once elected, you are not voting mainly for who you think is the best candidate but an entire program that will be put into production once they move into office. It is a way to make us, the people under rule feel as though we are on equal footing with those in power. This discovery while reading the article led to me feeling very powerless. Within my community and family I see myself as a powerless individual who does little help in large movements. I often would like to help but do have the feeling that my very small part will not have much impact which is a thought created by the elite especially in times or protest. If everyone thinks the same thoughts in my community then a protest or revolution can never fully commence. In Oakland and the San Francisco Bay area we have had many protests in the last year which have gained backlash from the community for causing too many problems within the community while not helping. The article showed me that this is a huge problem and in the grand scheme of things protests have little to do with impact on the day to day function of a community and happen very rarely. The inconvenience of protesting in the grand scheme of time will have little to affect the overall health of the community. I hope more people can put their fear and beliefs a side and help to join in, without the strength of numbers and the stigma created within the community towards protesters I feel we cannot progress.
Guadalupe Hernandez
4/4/2015 05:45:51 pm
The three major themes in this article were institutionalized power, movements such as protest and riots and their effects, and the power within the wealthy. I learned that American Political Institutes are formed in attempt to obtain order within society. In doing so they support inequality. The rich and poor are treated very differently, the rich are protected and rewarded by the poor's hard work, while the poor are continuously working hard for the same results. These institutes project the power of the wealthy, especially the power and influence over the poor. The poor are limited, forcing them to stay stuck within the barriers they are in. While the rich easily control all production, and all that is released to the rest of the population. It is a great disappointment to release where my family and I stand within this framework. We work hard to escape these limitations that are placed upon us. We are the lower class or the poor people. We work hard for minimum pay simply to make those rich, richer. We pursue an education in dreams to gain a new type of life and respect yet facing all odds against us. We feel unfairness, but seem to feel too fatigue to speak up. It is upsetting because we, or at least I know we need to make change yet don't do it because of feelings of discouragements. While reading this article I had an image come to mind. While I withheld the thought of the rich getting richer, and the poor getting poor or maintaining in the same boat, I had a past experience come to mind. While I worked in a company under insane pressure, and a pressure where it was for something that had to gains for me. I worked in a job about sells. I was under the pressure that I must make a certain amount of sells to KEEP my job, not granted anything, no promotion, or reward, but "granted" the ability to keep my job. Once I met my sells goal I would receive a higher one. I would at times have to sugar coat the truth, or push ideas I personally didn't agree with. I was brainwashed, and easily replaceable. I would beat myself up over making my "goal" all the receive the minimum pay. I would make the company thousands of dollars and receive the minimum amount in return, discussing. The rich have a way to make us feel worthless, yet still are able to squeeze as much profit as possible.
Shameim Lowther
4/6/2015 02:52:01 pm
This article was very informative and in the themes of reading I learned that ‘power is rooted in coercive force and in the control of the means of production.’ This government is socially, and institutionally constructed for the wealthy as the basis of power, and the poor to struggle and face inequalities thus dividing them through sex, race, class, education, means, worth. As a result the American government perpetuates these inequalities and leaving the working, middle, and poor classes of people to protest, struggle and accept their fate-due to retaliation by force 9police, employment, housing, family, and fear-through poverty). It seems like the only ones winning are the rich because they influence power through voting, advertisement, and donations.
stephanie linford
4/10/2015 11:12:08 am
I agree with you that the rich remain on top because they are in a tight circle that controls advertisement, donations,money spent,etc. This power they have that everyone follows. We still need to defeat the wall that has been built. The Middle class is the bigger class and we can gain control if we educate ourselves. Also, I agree with you that even a small footprint left here on earth can help wonders but I really think that you should start with your small footprint then stomp on all the wealth!!!!!
stephanie linford
4/10/2015 11:06:18 am
Zane Samuel
4/30/2015 09:32:22 am
The three themes I believe to be in key in the reading are:
Hang Nguyen
4/30/2015 01:52:03 pm
The three themes I got from the article are: institutionalized power, people struggle and protests. American Political Institutions have manipulated the poor people and with the poor have no idea about it. Cheap labor, no spending on education make causes them unawareness of being used and not paid enough. Because they are poor, so they believe the amount they are paid is enough, in compared to their life, but the true is, they deserve so much more. With the cheap labor, the rich get he work done with low expense, high profit, and they get richer. Meanwhile the poor still are struggling with debts and still work like crazy and still being control by the money power, and believe that is the way things should be. When actually it is not.
Hang Nguyen
4/30/2015 01:54:30 pm
The three themes I got from the article are: institutionalized power, people struggle and protests. American Political Institutions have manipulated the poor people and with the poor have no idea about it. Cheap labor, no spending on education make causes them unawareness of being used and not paid enough. Because they are poor, so they believe the amount they are paid is enough, in compared to their life, but the true is, they deserve so much more. With the cheap labor, the rich get he work done with low expense, high profit, and they get richer. Meanwhile the poor still are struggling with debts and still work like crazy and still being control by the money power, and believe that is the way things should be. When actually it is not.
Rayvonne Evans
4/30/2015 03:59:02 pm
The three major reoccurring themes in the article where people participation in the political process, conformity to the institution, and limited ability to disrupt the system.I didn't learn anything i didn't already know. We have been brainwashed and so oppressed that we actually think this system of inequality with money and power is okay. The have us perpetuating our own oppression. They gave us the illusion of freedom so that we wouldn't question is we were actually free or not. Every institution whether on a broad or small scale is designed for oppressing us. Every system has it's loopholes which very few people know how to jump through. Political participation in my community looks like people blindly going to vote without really knowing what it really is to vote and the impact it actually has on the lives of the American people. At the of the day no matter who you vote for the system is still unequal and designed to keep the wealthy rich and in power. For me and my family or participation in the system is to follow the guidelines as they are placed because deviating too far from them means not being able to survive. We have to buy every necessity we need to live. If we don't work we don't make money which in turn we can't purchase our life. I feel powerless because no matter what avenue you take it's set up so that were stuck in this box and unless you can think your way out of it that's all your reality is. Every road has a road block and a bunch of police officers waiting to shoot us in the back. We all feel helpless. Leave a Reply. |
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