| This question <49|38> overall <36|38> Clay: <651|102>. graded A |
| Question 678: Answer the above Questions (a)-(h) for capitalist society. |
| [37] Clay: a) The labor necessary to society's physical survival is not distributed equally. Some individuals are required to work more and consume less. These individuals are at the lower end of the range of income distribution therefore luxury consumption is considerably lower. |
| b) People are induced to work, initially to provide basic necessities, food, shelter, and clothing. Incentives such as a larger house or a nicer car induce people to drive for better jobs that pay more or work more hours. |
| None of these luxury items are necessary for survival. Individuals require the goods that others have produced, no one completely provides for themselves. People are not coerced on pain of death and punishment to produce things consumed by someone else. Indirectly individuals are coerced to provide goods consumed by others because everyone must make a wage to purchase goods in order to survive. This slave-owner/master system doesn't exist but the definition of a master is of concern. Many people are fueled and motivated by the “almighty dollar”, therefore the dollar could be considered a master to some people. People do work for someone who owns the means of production because they need money to satisfy their survival needs. |
| Some workers work because they truly enjoy the job. Under the stricter “economic” definition of a worker I doubt many people really enjoy working in manufacturing or a factory all day. On the other hand artists and musicians enjoy work much more since many of them would continue their activities even at a lower wage. Many people do cooperate with others but it varies depending on the type of job. Ultimately people are concerned with themselves first and foremost but cooperating with coworkers has a byproduct of making work more comfortable and enjoyable as well as the main advantage, workers are more productive. They want to improve their lives first and improve the lives of others as a side-note. |
| c) Work is organized by capitalists who direct what is produced, where, how, and how much. This usually comes from the capitalist owner who directs the production process. Workers occasionally have an impact on the methods and speed of work, mainly because managers must attempt to ensure high moral therefore obtain feedback from workers but again the manager makes the final decision and imposes that decision on the workers. |
| d) The business owners own and controls all the means of production and decide what work will be carried out. The owners have the majority of rights with regards to production. The owner must abide by the contract with the worker, to pay wages and respect working conditions. In a capitalistic society the owners of the means of production hold the majority of the power. |
| e) The purpose underlying production is to make a profit. Individual workers do not decide to produce in order to survive, they take a job, which pays a wage in order to survive. It is just a circumstance that workers happen to produce goods, again so capitalistic consumption can be fulfilled. |
| Everyone who establishes a production process has the objective of enriching themselves, this is the only reason to own means of production, to further that enriching process. |
| f) People in society who do not work but receive enough food and other goods to survive fall into two categories. Those who have enough wealth, either passed down from the previous generation or people who are provided for by the state. There are castes into which people are born which do not require them to work. There is a sexual division of labor which requires women to work more than men to make an equal wage, typically this involves working longer hours. The class of people who receive an income without working own enough of the means of production to receive an income stream without working. |
| g) The variation between different groups' and individuals' standards of living and income is huge. The differences are determined by the difference between actual wages or income and the income necessary for survival. Many people's income is substantially higher than what is necessary to survive but their consumption is also considerably higher as well, wasteful consumption. |
| h) The market is the mechanism by which societies product is transferred to those who produce it to those entitled to receive it. |
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