Deck 2: The Great Debate

Question 1

Ralf Dahrendorf contended that the real issue in class conflict was not property but

A) wealth
B) prestige
C) authority
D) wages

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Marx maintained that all history was the history of

A) capitalist accumulation
B) great ideas
C) class conflict
D) proletariat revolutions

Answer 2

A

Question 3

For Emile Durkheim, an important element in modern social solidarity is

A) good government
B) class consciousness
C) improved life chances
D) the division of labor

Answer 3

D

Question 4

According to Lenski, early radical social reformers included

A) the Hebrew prophets
B) the Egyptian pharaohs
C) the Roman Senate
D) the Hindu priests

Question 5

Confucius believed that the people should

A) respect rightful authority
B) question authority
C) follow the Tao rather than the emperor
D) refuse to serve in the military

Question 6

Marx contends that under capitalism, a society's class structure becomes:

A) more egalitarian with more opportunity
B) more complex with many levels
C) more polarized into two classes
D) more based on prestige than property

Question 7

Marx believed that socialist revolutions had not yet occurred because industrial workers were

A) not yet fully class conscious
B) not yet alienated from their work
C) not yet fully exploited
D) not yet working for subsistence wages

Question 8

For Max Weber, social honor within a community determines one's

A) class
B) privilege
C) party
D) status

Question 9

Conflict theory is rooted in the work of

A) Karl Marx and Max Weber
B) Emile Durkheim and Adam Smith
C) Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton
D) John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau

Question 10

According to Marx, the new class that emerges with industrial capitalism is:

A) the peasantry b the patricians
C) the plebeians
D) the proletariat

Question 11

Lenski places Plato as a radical, for in Plato's ideal republic the rulers are superior to the masses only in

A) income
B) wealth
C) power
D) property

Question 12

Ancient philosophers were all in agreement about one basic idea, that inequality was good and right for society.

Question 13

Max Weber was particularly concerned about how one's position in society affected one's

A) health
B) life chances
C) voting patterns
D) class consciousness

Question 14

Radical Christian reformers argued that

A) God favors and honors the poor
B) kings rule by divine right
C) God gave all power to the Pope
D) riches are a sign of God's favor

Question 15

According to John Cassidy in The Return of Karl Marx, Marx's correct predictions included

A) the fall of the Soviet Union
B) growing problems in the operation of capitalism
C) the rise to economic power of the Pacific Rim countries
D) communist uprisings in the advanced capitalist countries

Question 16

Conflict theorists differ from functionalists in that they believe stratification:

A) serves the interests of powerful groups rather than all of society
B) has changed in its form over the course of time
C) was most extreme in traditional societies and has declined over time
D) is multidimensional in nature

Question 17

Davis and Moore argue that social stratification is functional for society because it provides for

A) greater equity
B) less alienation
C) greater participation
D) greater motivation

Question 18

Max Weber noted that privileged, powerful, and prestigious groups often seek

A) revolutionary change
B) democratic reforms
C) social closure
D) a greater division of labor

Question 19

Karl Marx's theories emphasized:

A) social class and class conflict
B) supply and demand
C) goods and services
D) the role of personal prestige

Question 20

Gerhard Lenski called his synthesis of conflict and functionalist theories:

A) class differentiation theory
B) ecological-evolutionary theory
C) world systems theory
D) structural privilege theory

Question 21

Karl Marx believed that conflict was part of human nature, and all societies would always have class conflict and warfare.

Question 22

In what ways are Marx and Weber in agreement on the causes and nature of social inequality? In what ways do their views of stratification and class formation differ?

Question 23

List four historical proponents of the "radical antithesis" that inequality is wrong and destructive.

Question 24

Medieval European kings believed that their right to rule came from the consent of the people.

Question 25

Is social inequality desirable for society? Defend your view with arguments from historical and sociological viewpoints discussed in the chapter.

Question 26

What arguments have been offered in support of the social benefits of inequality, and what counterarguments have been offered to challenge these supposed benefits? How have these arguments formed the basis of conflict and functionalist views of social inequality?

Question 27

Hebrew prophets denounced abuses of wealth, even at risk of angering kings and rulers.

Question 28

Conflict theorists believe that inequality serves the interests of powerful groups. T

Question 29

List four historical proponents of the "conservative thesis" that inequality is right and proper.

Question 30

Confucius (Kong Fuzi) taught that people should obey and respect rightful authority.

Question 31

Jesus preached that wealth was a sign of blessing from God.

Question 32

Muhammad told his followers that the freedoms women of his day enjoyed were wrong, and they should be more restricted in their activities.

Question 33

Functionalists have argued that inequality is necessary for the smooth functioning of economy and society.

Question 34

John Locke argued that the authority of rulers comes from the consent of the governed.

Question 35

Karl Marx contended that human history was the history of class struggle.