Deck 2: National Differences in Political Economy

Question 1

The governments of China,Vietnam,and Laos are communist in name only because those nations have adopted wide-ranging market-based economic reforms.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Historically,pure market economies were found in communist countries where collectivist goals were given priority over individual goals.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Plato did not equate collectivism with equality.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In countries where individual goals are given primacy over collective goals,we are less likely to find market-based economic systems.

Question 5

In practical terms,individualism translates into an advocacy for democratic political systems and market economics.

Question 6

All right-wing dictatorships display an affinity toward socialist or communist ideas.

Question 7

By the mid-1990s,communism was rising worldwide.

Question 8

Political systems that emphasize collectivism tend to be democratic,while political systems that place a high value on individualism tend to be totalitarian.

Question 9

The Cold War was in many respects a war between collectivism,championed by the former Soviet Union,and individualism,championed by the United States.

Question 10

Karl Marx advocated state ownership of the basic means of production,distribution,and exchange (i.e.,businesses).

Question 11

The social democratsbelieved that socialism could be achieved only through violent revolution and totalitarian dictatorship.

Question 12

In a representative democracy,elected representatives who fail to perform their job adequately cannot be voted out of office at the next election.

Question 13

In a pure command economy,the goods and services that a country produces,the quantity in which they are produced,and the prices at which they are sold are all dictated by the interaction of demand and supply.

Question 14

One of the tenets of collectivism is that the welfare of society is best served by letting people pursue their own economic self-interest.

Question 15

In most democratic states,those who question the right of the rulers to rule find themselves imprisoned,or worse.

Question 16

In practical terms,collectivism creates a more favorable environment for international businesses to operate in than individualism.

Question 17

Command economies provide a more favorable environment for innovation and entrepreneurs than market economies.

Question 18

In a totalitarian country,all the constitutional guarantees on which representative democracies are built-an individual's right to freedom of expression and organization,a free media,and regular elections-are denied to the citizens.

Question 19

A common law system tends to be less adversarial than a civil law system.

Question 20

The term political economy is used to stress the fact that the political,economic,and legal systems of a country are independent of each other.

Question 21

Contracts drafted under a common law framework tend to be very detailed with all contingencies spelled out.

Question 22

Private action to violate property rights occurs when public officials,such as politicians and government bureaucrats,extort income,resources,or the property itself from property holders.

Question 23

The benefits,costs,and risks associated with doing business in a country are independent of that country's political,economic,and legal systems.

Question 24

Which of the following terms best represents the system of government in a nation?

A) Common system
B) Political system
C) Environmental system
D) Command system
E) Social system

Question 25

Which of the following systems is a part of the political economy?

A) Religious system
B) Value system
C) Demographic system
D) Legal system
E) Technological system

Question 26

Liability laws are typically least extensive in highly developed nations.

Question 27

When firms do not wish to accept the Contracts for the International Sale of Goods,they often opt for arbitration by a recognized arbitration court to settle contract disputes.

Question 28

International businesses lobby their respective governments to push for international agreements to ensure that intellectual property rights are protected and that the law is enforced.

Question 29

When law courts interpret civil law,they do so with regard to tradition,precedent,and custom.

Question 30

When intellectual property laws are lax,firms are at a greater risk of having their ideas stolen by local entrepreneurs.

Question 31

Intellectual property laws stimulate innovation and creative work.

Question 32

Bribes are legal payments meant to facilitate performance of duties that the recipients are already obligated to perform.

Question 33

By adopting the Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CIGS),a nation signals to other adopters that it will treat the convention's rules as part of its law.

Question 34

When product safety laws are tougher in a firm's home country than in a foreign country,the ethical thing to do is to adhere to home-country standards.

Question 35

The term "public action" refers to the exclusive legal rights of authors,composers,playwrights,artists,and publishers to publish and disperse their work as they see fit.

Question 36

Islamic law is primarily a moral rather than a commercial law and is intended to govern all aspects of life.

Question 37

Judges under a civil law system have less flexibility than those under a common law system.

Question 38

Other things being equal,a nation with democratic political institutions,is clearly more attractive as a place in which to do business than a nation that lacks democratic institutions.

Question 39

Which of the following statements is true about political systems?

A) The political system of a country is independent of its economic and legal systems.
B) The political system of a country is of no importance to international business.
C) It is not possible to have democratic societies that emphasize a mix of collectivism and individualism.
D) it is possible to have totalitarian societies that are not collectivist.
E) The societal culture of a country does not influence its political system.

Question 40

Compared to common law system,it is more expensive to draw up contracts in a civil law jurisdiction.

Question 41

Which of the following can be traced to the ancient Greek philosopher,Aristotle?

A) Collectivism
B) Individualism
C) Socialism
D) Totalitarianism
E) Communism

Question 42

Which of the following is most likely to be advocated by individualism?

A) Communal property is more highly productive than private property.
B) Public good should be preferred over private profit.
C) State-owned companies should monopolize certain industries.
D) The welfare of society is best served by some collective body such as government.
E) Free market ideologies should be followed for achieving better standards of living.

Question 43

Which of the following is true about communism?

A) Communism propagates the idea of "private profit rather than public good."
B) By the mid-1990s communism started rising worldwide.
C) China has moved sharply away from strict adherence to communist ideology in the economic sphere.
D) Communists committed themselves to achieving socialism by turning their backs on violent revolution and dictatorship.
E) Communism stresses that the interests of the individual should take precedence over the interests of the state.

Question 44

Democracy,in its purest form,is based on the belief that:

A) citizens should be directly involved in decision making.
B) political freedom of the citizens should be limited.
C) citizens are responsible for their own economic health and thus need no government.
D) individual freedom in the economic sphere should be restricted.
E) one person should have an absolute control over all the citizens of a nation.

Question 45

_____ is a form of government in which one person or political party exercises absolute control over all spheres of human life and prohibits opposing political parties.

A) Capitalism
B) Totalitarianism
C) Pure democracy
D) Republicanism
E) Representative democracy

Question 46

Which of the following has been advocated by Karl Marx?

A) Capitalist Society
B) Individualism
C) Selling state-owned enterprises to private investors
D) Socialism
E) Private profit over public good

Question 47

The sale of state-owned enterprises to independent,nonpublic investors is referred to as:

A) privatization.
B) nationalization.
C) collectivism.
D) communalism.
E) public action.

Question 48

In practical terms,_____ translates into an advocacy for democratic political systems and free market economics,which in general creates the most favorable environment for international businesses to operate in.

A) collectivism
B) totalitarianism
C) individualism
D) communism
E) socialism

Question 49

When _____ is emphasized,the needs of society as a whole are generally viewed as being more important than individual freedoms.

A) democracy
B) collectivism
C) individualism
D) capitalism
E) privatization

Question 50

In the context of individualism,which of the following is inconsistent with the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle?

A) Guaranteeing individual freedom
B) Government dictating what is in best interest of society
C) Guaranteeing self-expression
D) Committing to private ownership
E) Treating individual diversity as desirable

Question 51

In the early twentieth century,the socialist ideology split into two broad camps and the people who believed that socialism could be achieved only through violent revolution and totalitarian dictatorship were referred to as:

A) communists.
B) capitalists.
C) democrats.
D) individualists.
E) anarchists.

Question 52

Which of the following terms refers to a political system in which government is by the people,exercised either directly or through elected representatives?

A) Despotism
B) Democracy
C) Totalitarianism
D) Theocracy
E) Communism

Question 53

_____ attempt to achieve the same ideologies as that of the communists without violent revolution and totalitarian dictatorship.

A) Pure capitalists
B) Social democrats
C) Individualists
D) Anarchists
E) Aristocrats

Question 54

In a _____,individuals periodically elected by citizens form a government to make decisions on behalf of the electorate.

A) pure democracy
B) communist totalitarianism
C) right-wing totalitarianism
D) representative democracy
E) theocratic totalitarianism

Question 55

A(n)_____ is a person who believes in public ownership of the means of production for the common good of nation.

A) socialist
B) capitalist
C) individualist
D) monarchist
E) feudalist

Question 56

In the country of Normian Republic,an individual's right to own land is restricted to a large extent on the basis that it runs counter to "the common good." In this context,which of the following is most likely to be the political system adopted by Normian Republic?

A) Individualism
B) Democracy
C) Collectivism
D) Capitalism
E) Protectionism

Question 57

Which of the following is inconsistent with the Marxist philosophy?

A) Concern over public good rather than private profit
B) Monopoly of state-owned companies in certain industries
C) Opposing the ideologies of capitalist societies
D) Substantial limits on individual political freedom
E) Selling state-owned enterprises to private investors

Question 58

_____ argued that private property is more highly productive than communal property and will thus stimulate progress.

A) Aristotle
B) Friedrich Engels
C) Plato
D) Karl Marx
E) Charles Darwin

Question 59

The Cedian government believes that its citizens should have complete freedom in their economic and political pursuits,and the Cedian ideology is "private profit over public good." In this context,it can be said that Cedia most likely follows the philosophy of:

A) totalitarianism.
B) socialism.
C) individualism.
D) communism.
E) Marxism.

Question 60

Modern socialism traces its intellectual roots to:

A) Aristotle.
B) David Hume.
C) Karl Marx.
D) Adam Smith.
E) Milton Friedman.

Question 61

In mixed economies,governments sometimes tend to take into state ownership troubled firms whose continued operation is thought to be vital to national interests.Once a government takes into state ownership such troubled firms,they are said to be _____.

A) privatized
B) decentralized
C) liberalized
D) nationalized
E) deregulated

Question 62

States that limit the freedom of religious expression with laws based on religious principles,most likely follow the political system of:

A) theocratic totalitarianism.
B) communist totalitarianism.
C) right-wing totalitarianism.
D) pure democracy.
E) representative democracy.

Question 63

Which of the following is a feature of representative democracy?

A) Restrictions on an individual's right to freedom of expression, opinion, and organization
B) Inability of the citizens to vote out elected representatives who fail to perform their job adequately at the next election
C) An unlimited term for elected representatives
D) A court system that is linked to the political system
E) A nonpolitical police force and armed service

Question 64

In a _____ economy,certain sectors of the economy are left to private ownership and free market mechanisms,while in other sectors there is significant state ownership and government planning.

A) command
B) pure market
C) mixed
D) centrally planned
E) laissez-faire

Question 65

_____ generally permits individual economic freedom,but restricts individual political freedom on the grounds that it would lead to the rise of communism.

A) Pure democracy
B) Right-wing totalitarianism
C) Free market capitalism
D) Representative democracy
E) Communist totalitarianism

Question 66

Which of the following is true about the three broad types of economic systems?

A) For pure market economy to function efficiently product supply must be restricted.
B) In a command economy, state-owned enterprises have little incentive to control costs and be efficient.
C) The sole role of government in a command economy is to encourage vigorous free and fair competition between private producers.
D) Mixed economies were once uncommon throughout much of the world, although they are becoming much popular now.
E) Production in command economies is determined by the interaction of supply and demand and signaled to producers through the price system.

Question 67

_____ is a form of totalitarianism which advocates that socialism can be achieved only through a totalitarian dictatorship.

A) Tribal totalitarianism
B) Democratic totalitarianism
C) Communist totalitarianism
D) Theocratic totalitarianism
E) Right-wing totalitarianism

Question 68

In most totalitarian states:

A) free and fair elections are not denied to the citizens.
B) there is free access to state information.
C) all the basic civil liberties are granted to the citizens.
D) the right to freedom of expression and organization is not curbed.
E) media are heavily censored.

Question 69

In comparison to pure command economies,free market economies lack:

A) private ownership.
B) incentives for entrepreneurs.
C) incentives to improve products and processes.
D) government control over production and pricing.
E) vigorous free competition between producers.

Question 70

A _____ economy is an economic system in which the interaction of supply and demand determines the quantity in which goods and services are produced.

A) barter
B) command
C) market
D) regulated
E) centrally planned

Question 71

The Boldovian government took Sea Lion Inc.,a domestic,private shipbuilding firm,into state ownership to save the company from bankruptcy.However,the other private competitors in the shipbuilding industry were raged at this decision of the government.As a result,the government had to reduce the tax burden on all other private shipbuilding firms so that both the state-owned enterprise and private firms could co-exist.According to this information,Boldovia has most likely adopted a _____ economy.

A) mixed
B) market-based
C) command
D) laissez-faire
E) communist

Question 72

In comparison to market economies,command economies lack:

A) government interference in allocation of resources.
B) dynamism and innovation.
C) concern for the interests of the nation.
D) commitment to communism.
E) any opposition to private ownership.

Question 73

In which countries are we likely to find free market economies?

A) Countries where the good of the society has precedence over private profit
B) Countries where individual goals are given primacy over collective goals
C) Countries where state-owned enterprises have monopoly in certain industries
D) Countries that have adopted communism as their political system
E) Countries where the government plans the goods and services produced

Question 74

The fascist regimes that ruled Germany and Italy in the 1930s and 1940s had adopted:

A) right-wing totalitarianism.
B) theocratic totalitarianism.
C) representative democracy.
D) pure democracy.
E) totalitarian democracy.

Question 75

In a pure _____ economy,the government plans the goods and services that a country produces,the quantity in which they are produced,and the prices at which they are sold.

A) command
B) market
C) mixed
D) laissez-faire
E) deregulated

Question 76

A totalitarian political system in which a party,group,or individual that represents the interests of a particular ethnic group monopolizes political power is referred to as:

A) theocratic totalitarianism.
B) communist totalitarianism.
C) right-wing totalitarianism.
D) tribal totalitarianism.
E) democratic totalitarianism.

Question 77

Which of the following statements is most likely to be true regarding private ownership?

A) It reduces a nation's dynamism and its investments in innovation and creativity.
B) It is most commonly found in command economies.
C) It eliminates competitors and reduces pressure to lower production costs.
D) It gives entrepreneurs an incentive to search for better ways of serving consumer needs.
E) It is based on the philosophy that "the good of society is more important than the interests of an individual."

Question 78

A common feature of many right-wing dictatorships is:

A) total restriction on individual economic freedom.
B) strong commitment to socialist or communist ideas.
C) governments that are made up of military officers.
D) politicians from a particular tribe dominating the political system.
E) the direct involvement of the citizens in decision making.

Question 79

In a _____ economy,all businesses are state owned,the rationale being that the government can then direct them to make investments that are in the best interests of the nation as a whole rather than in the interests of private individuals.

A) free market
B) deregulated
C) pure command
D) mixed
E) laissez-faire

Question 80

A(n)_____ is built upon the ideals of an individual's right to freedom of expression and organization,a free media,and regular elections.

A) autocracy
B) representative democracy
C) theocracy
D) aristocracy
E) monocracy