bashoGWSS1

I think Marx had it right with power being based on materials. Basically his theory is that the more you have, the more power you have. It can be in terms of how much the person owns or how much they produce. It doesn't matter how hard you work to make the items. It only matters if you make enough money to purchase those items. They use the exploitation of those underneath them. He states that it is not an honest system. The people at the top in this system are not usually out volunteering a lot of their time or being creative.
If you look at the +5 system, the person at the top is white, male, heterosexual, middle-class, and christian or western culture. Who in America is usually CEO of a company? The +5 system basically defines suburbia, which is often viewed as the norm in America. This system of power is regulated through social hierarchy, where the +5 person is at the top. That person is the norm here. Typically the people at the top are not women or minorities. Take the presidential election for example, this is the first year that a woman and a black man have run for the presidency. One of them for sure won't be in office, and the other one may still not make it. For hundreds of years the white, male, middle-class, heterosexual, christian man has been in charge of the country. There is a lot of power linked to that position.
I think this way of thinking of power has the greatest effect on women. They're seen as being the ones who take care of the children and are mothers and can't be business women at the same time. A lot of women give up having children in order to reach their goals of making it to the top. On the news the other day they were talking about Sarah Palin having five children and whether or not she has the time to be Vice President and take care of her children at the same time. Also business women are expected to dress, act, and look a certain way. It can go both ways in the business world: A woman can give up some of her femininity or be forced to do it more. It also effects men. They have to act professional and dress nicely, but women have more pressure put on them in the work place. I rarely see people of other religions in business settings. The women who cover their heads or the Jewish hats are hardly ever seen. This system of power doesn't solely limit how we do gender, but how we are in our beliefs and looks. A man may hide the fact that he's gay in order to get a better chance of getting the higher paying job. I do think this system is in effect in our country, but power should be based on intelligence, creativity, or kindness in a utopian world.