Deck 17: The Twentieth-Century Age of Extremes

Question 1

During the 20ᵗʰ century the size of the human population ______ since the end of the 19ᵗʰ century.

A) remained stable
B) doubled
C) almost quadrupled
D) decreased because of the World Wars.
E) tripled

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Up until the beginning of World War II the core country that declined the most was

A) France
B) Germany
C) Japan
D) Britain
E) Costa Rica

Answer 2

D

Question 3

By the late 19ᵗʰ century trade policies became more protectionist except for

A) Germany
B) Britain
C) the United States
D) France

Answer 3

B

Question 4

One of the fruits of the globalization of industry at the end of the 19ᵗʰ century was

A) the rise of the standard of living in all countries
B) a decline in famines
C) a decline in the number of epidemics
D) a, b, and c
E) neither a, b, or c

Question 5

The socialist international that incorporated the widest mix of the political spectrum of the left was

A) the First International
B) the Second International
C) the Third International
D) the Fourth International

Question 6

There is a common belief that American individualism makes it impossible to build a socialist movement in the United States. In the early part of the 20ᵗʰ century this notion was challenged by

A) the socialist party
B) the granger movement
C) the Industrial Workers of the World
D) a, b, and c
E) neither a, b or c. These organizations were too small to make a difference.

Question 7

The Federal Bureau of Investigation was founded

A) after World War I to keep a close watch on radical immigrants
B) after World War II to keep an eye on terrorists
C) in reaction to the Seattle general strike
D) because the Polish Bowling League was founded in 1919
E) none of the above
F) a and c

Question 8

Japanese power by the late 19ᵗʰ and early 20ᵗʰ century was demonstrated by victories over

A) China
B) Russia
C) Africa
D) both a and b
E) none of the above

Question 9

In the 1930's there were fascist movements in

A) Spain
B) Portugal,
C) Romania
D) Austria
E) a, b, c, d
F) neither a, b, c or d. Fascism only existed in Germany and Italy.

Question 10

The first half of the 20ᵗʰ century is called the age of extremes because

A) most of the action occurred near the north and south poles
B) very short and very tall people went nuts
C) there were many revolutions and two large world wars
D) not much happened because the internet had not yet been invented
E) popular music became much louder

Question 11

Transnational social movements

A) never occurred before the invention of the internet
B) are movements involving individuals in different countries but not primarily organized in to national subgroups.
C) are the same thing as international movements
D) always only advocate nonviolent forms of protest
E) b, c and e
F) none of the above

Question 12

The Mexican Revolution

A) was caused entirely by internal factors
B) was partly a reaction to privatization of communal lands
C) supported the Catholic Church
D) was led by Villa in the north and Zapata in the south
E) b and d
F) none of the above

Question 13

Compared to previous centuries in Europe, the 20ᵗʰ century was less violent internationally because of the emergence of the League of Nations and the United Nations.

Question 14

Lenin explained imperialism by claiming that capitalists produced more products than the working class in core countries could consume. This drove capitalists to seek new markets in non-core countries.

Question 15

The term "social imperialism" refers to claiming to meet the needs of the working class in core countries by increasing access to resources from the non-core.

Question 16

Because of Marx's claim that "workers have no Fatherland", the socialist Second International was able to convince a large number of workers to not fight to defend their home countries in World War I .

Question 17

The socialist revolutions in Russia and China are good indicators of the accuracy of Marx's prediction that socialism would first emerge in industrial countries.

Question 18

Mao Zedong's policies towards Chinese peasants was similar to Stalin's policies in the Soviet Union because by the 1930's Stalin had control over all the Communist parties around the world.

Question 19

By the end of World War I the United States was the most powerful industrial country and hegemonic leadership began after World War I.

Question 20

By the early 20ᵗʰ century, the East Asian PMN had been incorporated into the Central PMN.

Question 21

The Bolshevik concept of a vanguard party gave Lenin great confidence that socialism could be created in Russia with or without European help.

Question 22

It was the decision of the American Federation of Labor to join with the Industrial Workers of the World that created the "Big Red Scare" after World War I.

Question 23

The Seattle General strike was unrelated to the world revolution of 1917.

Question 24

The 1920's and 1930's were better decades for fascism and socialism than for parliamentary democracy.

Question 25

The Catholic Church actively opposed the Mexican Revolution.

Question 26

The Communist International was always simply a tool of Soviet foreign policy.

Question 27

Chapter 17 contends that a main cause of World War I was "lateral pressure". Looking at the global "hot spots" today, can any of these be explained by "lateral pressure?

Question 28

"Imperial overreach" refers to a process by which a declining hegemon switches its emphasis from investment in manufacturing, trade and political legitimacy to investment in military power and financial services. This description was applied Britain during the 19ᵗʰ century. Discuss to what extent this can also be applied to the United States during its hegemonic trajectory.

Question 29

Cecil Rhodes organized a semi-secret elite of politicians, scholars and journalists into a group called the "Round Table." The Round Table organized media campaigns that promoted the notion of the superiority of the British way of life. Discuss how similar groups might be operating in the present period and give examples.

Question 30

Why is the first half of the 20ᵗʰ century referred to as 'the age of extremes'?

Question 31

Discuss how the iteration model of sociocultural evolution can be applied to what happened in the world-system during the first half of the 20ᵗʰ century.

Question 32

Discuss the conditions that induced the Germans to make war on two fronts in World War I.

Question 33

What were the obstacles to and main structural factors behind the emergence of the Anglo-American alliance in the last part of the 19ᵗʰ century?

Question 34

Discuss the role of the Round Table in the effort to preserve British hegemony.

Question 35

Discuss how the processes of semiperipheral development were working in the last half of the 19ᵗʰ century and the early 20ᵗʰ century.

Question 36

Describe the situation of globalization without a hegemon that emerged after World War I and its main causes and consequences.

Question 37

Discuss the ways in which the Chinese, Mexican and Russian revolutions of the early 20ᵗʰ century were connected with one another.

Question 38

Discuss the histories of the First, Second and Third Internationals in terms of the idea of global party formation.

Question 39

Describe the ways that the world revolution of 1917 occurred in the United States and discuss the causes and consequences of these events.

Question 40

Discuss the functions of "social imperialism" for dealing with the contradictions of capitalist development that emerged in the 19ᵗʰ century.

Question 41

Discuss the reasons why declining hegemons tend to engage in "imperial overreach."