Deck 11: Retrospect and Prospect: the Past 10,000 Years and the Next 100

Question 1

Sanderson and Alderson believe that Heilbroner's assessment of the future is:

A) much too pessimistic
B) undoubtedly correct
C) perhaps slightly exaggerated, but on the right track nevertheless
D) unduly optimistic

Answer 1

much too pessimistic

Question 2

Economic inequality:

A) reached its height in agrarian societies
B) reached its height in the period of European colonialism
C) reached its height during the Industrial Revolution
D) is probably greater today, at least at a world level, than at any time in human history

Answer 2

is probably greater today, at least at a world level, than at any time in human history

Question 3

The low living standard of the peasantry in agrarian societies may generally be attributed to:

A) resource scarcity due to population pressure
B) class stratification
C) both of these
D) neither of these

Answer 3

both of these

Question 4

Throughout social evolution, social and economic inequalities have generally :

A) decreased
B) remained much the same in degree, although changing in form
C) increased markedly
D) increased moderately

Question 5

According to which of the following conceptions of freedom has freedom declined between the origin of agriculture and the emergence of industrial capitalism?

A) freedom as human self-realization
B) freedom as individuality
C) freedom as individual autonomy
D) freedom as anonymity

Question 6

According to Robert Heilbroner, the human future looks grim because of:

A) the increasing exhaustion of irreplacable resources
B) rapid population growth
C) increasing moral individualism
D) two of these

Question 7

According to Simon's critique of "doom and gloom" outlooks on the future:

A) technological breakthroughs will probably head off any serious problem generated by resource depletion
B) population growth is in many instances beneficial rather than harmful
C) negativists like Heilbroner, although probably correct, do society damage because they encourage fatalism
D) two of the above

Question 8

According to Meadows, Meadows, and Randers, which of the following is necessary to allow for a sustainable world throughout the twenty-first century?

A) every couple in the world limiting itself to two children
B) every nation in the world providing a standard of living for its citizens that is equivalent to that enjoyed in the United States
C) the development of fusion energy
D) every nation in the world adopting the energy consumption practices of the United States

Question 9

Sanderson and Alderson suggest that the kind of political structure that Chase-Dunn proposes for the future:

A) is attractive in principle but probably would not work
B) would not pose any particular threat to individual freedoms
C) is likely to be created before the start of the next projected war cycle
D) is so sensible that it is a wonder no one thought of it earlier

Question 10

According to which of the following conceptions of freedom are hunter-gatherers considerably less free than the members of industrial societies?

A) freedom as freedom from want
B) freedom as individuality
C) freedom as individual autonomy
D) freedom as anonymity

Question 11

Sanderson and Alderson believe that there has been an overall in the quality of human work in the evolution from band and tribal to modern industrial societies:

A) improvement
B) decline
C) inconsistent trend
D) none of these

Question 12

Sanderson and Alderson have suggested that:

A) hunter-gatherers have generally had the lowest standard of living of all types of societies
B) the sharpest decline in the standard of living in human history occurred with the emergence of agrarian societies
C) there has been a steady improvement in the standard of living with technological development
D) pastoralists enjoy a higher living standard than do the members of all other types of societies

Question 13

According to Joshua Goldstein, major wars between powerful states have, since 1495, almost always occurred in the half of the phase of long wave cycles:

A) first; upturn
B) second; upturn
C) first; downturn
D) second; downturn

Question 14

The doctrine of cultural relativism asserts that:

A) there is no universal set of standards whereby cultural practices can be judged morally, and thus what is right in one culture at one time may be wrong in another culture at another time
B) one cannot make moral judgments about cultures
C) the standards for judging cultures must be those of a society's elite social groups
D) the standards for judging cultures can only be those shared by the majority of the population

Question 15

Sanderson and Alderson would argue that:

A) human progress has been occurring in most spheres of social life over the past 10,000 years
B) in all spheres of social life over the past 10,000 years, the quality of human life has been going downhill
C) the concept of progress should be banished from the vocabularies of sociologists
D) despite many forms of cultural regression over the past 10,000 years, it is still possible to talk about progress occurring in some respects

Question 16

If the next world economic upturn begins right away, Goldstein would predict that the next major war between powerful states is likely to occur during the period:

A) 2000-2010
B) 2020-2030
C) 2050-2070
D) 2040-2050

Question 17

Chase-Dunn suggests that the best hope for avoiding major wars in the future lies in:

A) maintaining a balance between the major powers in terms of their nuclear capabilities
B) the success of perestroika and glasnost
C) multilateral nuclear disarmament
D) the creation of a world state

Question 18

The largest increase in the workload of the "average world person" occurred with the evolutionary emergence of:

A) horticultural societies
B) agrarian societies
C) capitalism
D) advanced industrial societies

Question 19

Sanderson and Alderson hold that cultural relativism:

A) is an adequate alternative to ethnocentrism
B) may constitute an adequate alternative to ethnocentrism only in a practical or methodological sense
C) may constitute an adequate alternative to ethnocentrism only in a strictly ethical sense
D) is a figment of some anthropologist's imagination

Question 20

The tendency to use one's own way of life as a standard for judging other cultures is called:

A) cultural relativism
B) cultural chauvinism
C) imperialism
D) ethnocentrism

Question 21

Maryanski and Turner claim that the relationship between freedom conceptualized as individual autonomy) and social evolution is curvilinear. This means that freedom is highest in societies, and lowest in societies:

A) horticultural; agrarian
B) hunter-gatherer and industrial; horticultural and agrarian
C) industrial; hunter-gatherer
D) industrial; agrarian

Question 22

The largest and most rapid increase in the human lifespan occurred:

A) during the sixteenth century
B) after the Neolithic Revolution
C) after the development of agrarian societies
D) after 1900

Question 23

Sanderson and Alderson mention several obstacles in the path of the EU's potential success. These include:

A) language differences
B) national differences
C) economic difficulties, such as forging a common economic policy
D) all of these

Question 24

The growth of individualism in the modern world is shown by the:

A) orientation of Western legal institutions
B) emergence of the "human potential movement" and the "drug culture"
C) recent "sexual revolution" and growing antiauthoritarianism of Western societies
D) all of these

Question 25

Sanderson and Alderson argue the following about social inequality:

A) it is a major flaw of capitalism and must end at all costs
B) it will only disappear once a socialist society has been put into place
C) it is not always or necessarily bad, especially if it improves the standard of living for ordinary people
D) it is an unnatural condition for humans, and will be eradicated when despotic social institutions have finally disappeared

Question 26

According to David Harvey, increasing globalization is leading to the psychological destabilization of individuals due to a phenomenon he calls:

A) time-space compression
B) the condition of postmodernity
C) the coming anarchy
D) commodity intensification

Question 27

The major reason for the decline in the quality of the human diet between the Neolithic and Industrial revolutions was:

A) population pressure
B) loss of knowledge concerning good nutrition
C) exhaustion of the supply of the most nutritious plants and animals
D) all of these

Question 28

According to Douglas Mulhall, the most profound technological advancement we will see in the coming century will likely be:

A) increased and improved space travel
B) the nanotechnology revolution
C) improved industrial production in factories
D) much faster internet connections

Question 29

Elvin Hatch suggests that we can evaluate cultures in terms of a "humanistic principle." This principle holds that cultures are to be judged positively to the extent that they:

A) are free from such things as torture, sacrifice, war, political oppression, and economic exploitation
B) provide a good material existence for their members, i.e., are free from poverty, malnutrition, and disease
C) both of these
D) neither of these - he believes that cultures cannot really be judged

Question 30

The idea that all cultures are "equally valid" is known as:

A) ethnocentrism
B) cultural equality
C) cultural relativism
D) ethnoequality
E) none of these

Question 31

At the very large scale, we may see the following changes) in the next 50 to 100 years:

A) increased democratization throughout the world
B) rapid technological advancement
C) increasing ethnic conflict on a global scale
D) efforts to create a world state
E) all of these

Question 32

In industrial societies today the infant mortality rate is about 7 or 8, whereas in the same societies as recently as 1900 the rate was about:

A) 60
B) 150
C) 350
D) 500

Question 33

Concerning ethnic conflict on a global scale, Sanderson and Alderson argue that:

A) it should continue to decrease as people become more open-minded about other ethnic groups
B) it will continue to intensify due to an acceleration in immigration
C) increased ethnic heterogeneity throughout the world will lead to an increase in global ethnic conflict
D) two of these

Question 34

Francis Fukuyama has argued that we are now at "the end of history," by which he means:

A) world capitalism will be destroyed before the year 2050
B) free-market capitalism and liberal democracy represent the highest stage of human progress
C) history is primarily an irrational process that is impossible to understand

Question 35

As of May 2004, 25 countries belonged to the European Union EU). Which of the following were members at that time?

A) Germany, France, Britain, and Sweden
B) Germany, Russia, Switzerland, and Romania
C) France, Britain, Hungary, and China
D) Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Uzbekistan

Question 36

According to Sanderson and Alderson, the theory of justice espoused by philosopher John Rawls is:

A) probably the best moral theory developed so far
B) flawed beyond any reasonable repair
C) perfect and cannot be improved upon
D) subject to the same difficulties as cultural relativism

Question 37

One major criticism of cultural relativism is that it:

A) sees some societies as "superior" and others as "inferior"
B) easily leads to condoning inhumane practices found in some societies, such as the extermination of Jews in Nazi Germany
C) does not focus heavily enough on creating equality between different cultures
D) two of these
E) none of these

Question 38

The main reason that the EU came into existence was:

A) to create one single European state and culture
B) to allow Europe to become more competitive with the US and Japan in the world- economy
C) to initiate action designed to create a single European language
D) to form a bigger and better war machine

Question 39

Studies surveyed by Minge-Klevana suggest that the belief that modern industrial societies are characterized by abundant leisure time is:

A) true
B) equivocal, i.e., no firm conclusions can be reached
C) false

Question 40

Sanderson and Alderson suggest that a world-annihilating war is:

A) completely unbelievable
B) a very real possibility
C) very unlikely given new technological advances
D) very easily avoidable

Question 41

Sanderson and Alderson argue the following about an ecological and economic collapse:

A) given new technological advancements, it seems very unlikely in the coming century
B) it is probably the biggest threat to humankind on a global scale
C) we should expect to see a total ecological and economic collapse within the next 50 years
D) none of these

Question 42

Though some scholars argue for a "second American hegemony," Sanderson and Alderson think that:

A) the United States has not yet lost its hegemonic status and never will
B) this is quite unlikely, because no hegemon has ever lost and regained a hegemonic position
C) this is a very real possibility
D) this will coincide with a rise in European hegemony, thereby forming the first ever "dual hegemony"

Question 43

Some scholars, such as Christopher Chase-Dunn, think that a world-annihilating war may only be avoidable through the establishment of:

A) a protective war tribunal
B) world-scale economic organizations such as the WTO
C) a multi-country constitution promising permanent disarmament
D) a world state

Question 44

Cultural relativism has emerged as a highly successful alternative to ethnocentrism.

Question 45

By Sanderson and Alderson's criteria, today's "average world person" is a Third World peasant or urban worker.

Question 46

The average weekly workload of the average member of a contemporary Third World country is lower than that of the earliest agriculturalists some 10,000 years ago.

Question 47

According to York Bradshaw and Michael Wallace, the rise of the European Union as the next world hegemony is unlikely because of three major types of obstacles. These obstacles are:

A) economic, linguistic, and national
B) economic, military, and religious
C) economic, geographical, and national
D) geographical, linguistic, and national

Question 48

In human history, peasant diets have generally been inferior in calories, proteins, and nutrients to those of hunter-gatherers.

Question 49

Maryanski and Turner argue that there has been a steady increase in individual autonomy throughout social evolution.

Question 50

As defined by Sanderson and Alderson, democracy was undermined at the same point in social evolution at which class stratification emerged.

Question 51

Sanderson and Alderson incline more toward a pessimistic than an optimistic view of the human future.

Question 52

Sanderson and Alderson predict that will be the next hegemonic power in the world-economy:

A) the United States
B) Great Britain
C) Holland
D) The European Union
E) China

Question 53

According to Maryanski and Turner, individuals in horticultural societies are trapped in the "cage of kinship," whereas in agrarian societies they are trapped largely in the "cage of power."

Question 54

After reviewing all of the arguments presented by the world-system theorists, Sanderson and Alderson believe that there is no possibility of a major war in the future.

Question 55

Concerning the future of sub-Saharan Africa:

A) it will likely continue to deteriorate and possibly implode
B) it will become completely marginalized in the world-system because it has little to offer richer societies
C) internal deficiencies such as low literacy rates and high levels of AIDS will lead to its further disintegration
D) all of these

Question 56

Heilbroner sees the rise of increasingly authoritarian and antidemocratic governments as likely in the near future in order to allocate increasingly scarce resources.

Question 57

Rawls's moral theory contains two basic principles, the first of which refers to liberty. His second principle refers to social and economic inequalities and holds that these inequalities:

A) are never acceptable in any society
B) are justified if they are to everyone's advantage
C) actually benefit society in many ways

Question 58

According to Sanderson and Alderson, people in modern industrial societies enjoy much higher levels of individuality than people in preindustrial societies.

Question 59

Sanderson and Alderson argue that modern capitalism, and even to some extent Third World capitalism:

A) meet Rawls's principles fairly well
B) totally fail to meet Rawls's principles
C) have no bearing on Rawls's principles because those principles were intended to apply only to socialist societies

Question 60

Some world-system theorists have argued that the presence of nuclear weapons makes the occurrence of a major war in the future relatively unlikely.

Question 61

The chances that China will be the next hegemonic power in the world-economy are very good.

Question 62

Discuss the various meanings of the concept of freedom and evaluate the extent to which the members of contemporary capitalist and socialist societies are more or less free than members of earlier types of societies.

Question 63

Describe long waves, their relationship to the incidence of major wars, and what this relationship portends for the coming decades.

Question 64

Although democratization will likely increase throughout the world in coming decades, this trend may also be counterbalanced by increased lawlessness and social disorder in certain parts of the world.

Question 65

One problem with the creation of a world state is that it may become an "Orwellian monster" that greatly undermines the freedom of individuals.

Question 66

The world is facing more ethnic conflict due to an increasing level of ethnic homogeneity.

Question 67

Sanderson and Alderson see little or no chance of a world-annihilating global war.

Question 68

Sanderson and Alderson argue that the chances for the creation of a world state are very small.

Question 69

Peter Singer criticizes Rawls for applying his moral theory only to nation-states rather than to the world as a whole.

Question 70

In the future it is quite likely that we will see greater renewable energy sources, increased use of virtual reality, robots, and numerous other technological advancements.

Question 71

Outline Meadows, Meadows, and Randers's projection of the human future and evaluate it in terms of the most recent empirical evidence.

Question 72

The remaining Leninist societies in the world will likely continue on for at least several more decades.

Question 73

Sanderson and Alderson agree with Francis Fukuyama that humankind has come to the end of history.

Question 74

Increasing globalization is having a "mind-numbing," psychologically disturbing effect on individuals as life continues to be accelerated and made more complex.

Question 75

Given its strongly unified nature, it is very likely that the European Union will be the next world hegemon.

Question 76

Write a detailed essay in which you evaluate the appropriateness of using the concept of progress to characterize the past 10,000 years of human history.

Question 77

Continuing economic development throughout the core, semiperiphery, and periphery in the next few decades should be very even.

Question 78

Sanderson and Alderson are strong supporters of cultural relativism and argue that it is the only way to judge different cultures.

Question 79

According to Joshua Goldstein's research on K-waves, we can expect another major war between 2020 and 2030.

Question 80

Cultural relativism often leads to unacceptable moral conclusions not anticipated or desired by cultural relativists themselves.