Deck 9: Communism and Postcommunism

Question 1

One of the challenges in putting Marx's ideas into practice has been that:

A)he left no specific outline for how communism would be built.
B)his guidelines for how to build communism were too costly to realize.
C)his guidelines for how to build communism presumed technological innovation that has not yet occurred.
D)he only provided a guideline for how to build communism in small agricultural countries.
E)most of his writings have been lost.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The bourgeoisie are the:

A)working class.
B)communist revolutionaries.
C)property-owning middle class.
D)aristocratic elites.
E)military.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following statements about communism in China under Mao is accurate?

A)Mao rejected the broad political structure and institutions of the Soviet Communist regime and developed uniquely Chinese ones based on Confucian philosophy.
B)Mao sought to destroy the power of the party-state in order to expand the Communist regime.
C)Mao sought to end the Cultural Revolution that began under the previous capitalist regime.
D)Mao argued, like Marx, that communist revolutions could only be successful in countries of advanced capitalist practice.
E)Mao's strategy for cultural and economic advancement proved to be far less cruel and resulted in much less loss of life than Stalin's.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The term used to describe Marx's conception of historical change is:

A)episodic revolutionism.
B)graduated materialism.
C)dialectical materialism.
D)dialectical gradualism.
E)graduated episodism.

Question 5

The individual primarily associated with articulating the political theory of communism is:

A)Mao Zedong.
B)Vladimir Lenin.
C)Karl Marx.
D)Karl Kautsky.
E)Adam Smith.

Question 6

The "cabinet" of the Communist Party as developed in the Soviet Union is generally known as the:

A)nomenklatura.
B)Politburo.
C)general secretary.
D)bourgeoisie.
E)glasnost.

Question 7

Marx's name for all human institutions, including religion, the state, politics, and gender, is the:

A)surplus value.
B)superstructure.
C)dialectic
D)bourgeoisie.
E)base.

Question 8

In which of the following ways did Lenin's beliefs about communism differ from those of Marx?

A)He argued that the state did not have to wither away after the communist revolution.
B)He argued that some democratic processes could be incorporated into the operation of the state.
C)He argued that revolutions could take place in less advanced countries.
D)He argued that socialism could be an end goal, not a transitional phase.
E)He argued that it was necessary to retain religion under communism.

Question 9

For Marxists, socialism represents:

A)the enemy that has to be overthrown.
B)the final end-stage of human history.
C)a transitional phase before communism.
D)the stage of human development before capitalism.
E)the enemy of communism.

Question 10

Which of the following has served as a major source of attraction for followers of communism?

A)the promise of the separation of powers
B)the promise of economic equality
C)the promise of environmental justice
D)the promise of religious freedom
E)the promise of individual wealth

Question 11

For Marx, which of the following was most important for explaining all human action?

A)religion
B)gender
C)economics
D)culture
E)geography

Question 12

How have current governments in Russia and China responded to growing nationalism in their countries?

A)They have promoted nationalism as a means of maintaining legitimacy.
B)They have sought to emphasize ethnic multiculturalism to reduce nationalism.
C)They have liberalized laws that restrict religious freedom and cultural expression.
D)They have outlawed traditional means of expressing nationalism, including public celebrations.
E)They have tolerated nationalist sentiment without taking overt action.

Question 13

In which of the following ways has China's transition from the communist model differed from that of Russia?

A)It has nationalized more industries than it has privatized.
B)It has adopted strong mercantilist policies.
C)It has sought economic change with little or no political change.
D)It has involved a strong promotion of nationalism.
E)It has failed to expand its agricultural sector.

Question 14

Lenin's term for those who would need to carry out revolution in a less advanced country is the:

A)proletariat masses.
B)conscious activists.
C)vanguard of the proletariat.
D)counterhegemon.
E)avant-garde.

Question 15

The ________ is the name Marx chose for the system of economic production, including the level of technology (the "means of production").

A)superstructure
B)determination
C)base
D)proletariat
E)bourgeoisie

Question 16

Which of the following statements about religions and their contribution to new identities around the world is accurate?

A)The re-creation of religious institutions typically decreases the sectarianism and fundamentalism that can undermine democracy.
B)The Soviet Union actively promoted religions other than Christianity as a means of countering western influence.
C)The Chinese government has tried to battle religious growth by promoting Confucian ideals and practices.
D)Despite attempts by both private citizens and governments like that of Saudi Arabia, Islam has grown in many countries with large Muslim populations.
E)Christianity has continued to wither in postcommunist countries, which have grown more secular in the last two decades.

Question 17

Marx argued that once socialism had triumphed, the state would eventually:

A)grow in power.
B)become highly centralized.
C)grow despotic and have to be overthrown again.
D)wither away.
E)become confederal.

Question 18

Which of the following is an accurate description of some component of communist government in the Soviet Union?

A)The status of communist leaders was downplayed so as to prevent veneration of individuals above any other citizens.
B)Some unions were allowed to operate outside of the state, though they were linked to the Communist Party.
C)Party cells were primarily used in the practical representation of the interests of the people.
D)The nomenklatura were often set in opposition, sometimes violently, to the judiciary and local government officials.
E)The only truly democratic process that occurred within the state happened during the party congress that was held every few years.

Question 19

For most of his career, Marx generally argued that communist revolution was most likely in:

A)countries in which the superstructure had less power.
B)countries where capitalism was most advanced.
C)poor countries.
D)countries with an underdeveloped bourgeoisie.
E)Europe.

Question 20

Postcommunist economic reform has been most successful in:

A)the Balkans, such as Romania and Bulgaria.
B)Eastern Europe and the Baltics.
C)Russia.
D)the Caucasus, such as Armenia and Georgia.
E)Southeast Asia.

Question 21

Which of the following statements about central planning is accurate?

A)It emphasized production of consumer goods over infrastructure.
B)It proved unable to create strong worker incentives.
C)It relied too heavily on market forces to determine supply and demand.
D)It emphasized agricultural production at the expense of the industrial sector.
E)It encouraged too much interdependence among domestic economic entities.

Question 22

Describe the political and economic strategies undertaken by Gorbachev as a means of reforming the Soviet Union.What changes did he propose in the international arena? Assess how these policies helped to hasten the end of the Soviet Union.

Question 23

Why was communism unable to provide the benefits that it promised in theory? Are there inherent flaws in communist theory, or did those in power misapply its principles?

Question 24

Under communism, ethnicity and nationalism were:

A)embraced and "socialized."
B)suppressed.
C)tolerated as relics that would fade in time.
D)encouraged as a means of strengthening opposition to the West.
E)generally merged with Marxist ideology.

Question 25

Why was communism able to spread across such a large part of the globe? What explains its attraction?

Question 26

Which of the following represented the chief executive position in a communist country based on the Soviet model?

A)legislature
B)president
C)Politburo
D)general secretary
E)prime minister

Question 27

Which of the following statements about gender and LGBT rights and equality in former communist or eastern European countries is accurate?

A)Gender inequality is growing in most Eastern European states as a result of postcommunist privatization and the high levels of unemployment that have resulted.
B)While some Central European states allow for same-sex partnerships, discrimination against the LGBT community has actually grown in Russia and Central Asia.
C)Postcommunist countries perform worse on the United Nation's Gender Inequality Index than advanced democracies around the world.
D)Postcommunist regimes in Russia and Central Asia often attempt to court favor with the LGBT community as a means of nationalistic opposition to the West.
E)Unlike their approach to religion, communist countries considered gender and sexual identity to be compatible with communist ideology and offered no discrimination; that tolerance has continued in transitions from communism.

Question 28

In which of the following ways do postcommunist success stories like Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic differ from countries with less successful records like Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Serbia?

A)They have a greater precommunist history of healthy civil society.
B)They were more heavily influenced by the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires.
C)They are much more ethnically diverse.
D)They were more heavily industrialized after the fall of communism.
E)They had less contact with the West during communist rule.

Question 29

Gorbachev's perestroika was concerned with:

A)institutional economic and political reforms.
B)military disarmament.
C)devolution and federalism.
D)encouraging public debate.
E)religious freedom.

Question 30

Which of the following best describes the role of political parties in communist countries based on the Soviet model?

A)The state is dominated by a single Communist Party.
B)Several Communist parties compete for power, but non-Communist parties are banned.
C)All members of society belong to a single Communist Party.
D)All parties are banned as a relic of the prerevolutionary era.
E)Agrarian parties dominate the political system.

Question 31

How were gender relations, ethnic identities, and civil society handled under communist regimes? Were ethnic identities reduced or sharpened, and why?

Question 32

How did Marxist theory change the lives of women in most communist countries?

A)Abortion and divorce laws were made more conservative, reducing women's access to both.
B)Women were given greatly expanding workforce and educational opportunities.
C)Many women rose to positions of significant political and economic power.
D)Gender relations changed dramatically in most arenas.
E)Traditional patterns of sexism largely faded and most women were able to let go of their traditional roles inside the home.

Question 33

Politically sensitive or influential jobs in the state, reserved for people approved by the Communist Party as developed in the Soviet Union, are known as:

A)nomenklatura.
B)proletariat.
C)party-state.
D)a dictatorship of the proletariat.
E)perestroika.

Question 34

Which of the following statements about the privatization and marketization of countries transitioning from communism is accurate?

A)Those advocating shock therapy wanted to minimize the short-term social disruptions of marketization.
B)Inflation and hyperinflation were fears of those that advocated a gradual approach to marketization.
C)Many companies were uncompetitive in the international system, but large industrial firms seemed to be best at surviving privatization.
D)Postcommunist countries almost universally sought to privatize by distributing firms' shares to the public as a whole.
E)Most postcommunist countries agreed that privatization should occur and be allowed to complete its course before marketization was attempted.

Question 35

How do we evaluate the economic transitions that postcommunist countries have undergone as either successful or unsuccessful? Have some models shown more promise than others? Why?