Module 4: Living in the Belly of an Empire

1–When Xerxes’s army crosses the Hellespont, a story circulates that a mare (a female horse) has given birth to a rabbit.  How does Herodotus interpret this event?

1. Xerxes is a miracle-worker. He can do anything.
2. The well-equipped Persian cavalryman should ride a camel rather than a horse.
3. Xerxes will set off on his expedition walking tall and proud but when he comes back he will be running for his life.
4. Nothing to see here; no serious commander should take the rumors of his soldiers seriously.

2–After Xerxes has captured the city of Athens, and after the battle of Euboea, Xerxes seeks the opinions of his commanders regarding the wisdom of fighting the Greeks at sea.  According to Herodotus, which of the following is/are true?

1. Mardonius says the Greeks are like women. We can easily defeat them.
2. Artemesia says your men at sea will be as inferior to the Greeks as women are to men. But have you not already captured the city of Athens?  Do you not already control the rest of Greece?  You have not no need for a battle at sea.
3. The other commanders agree with Mardonius.
4. The other commanders agree with Artemisia.

3–At Plataea, the Persian army is led by Mardonius; the Greek army by a Spartan called Pausanius.   Day after day, neither side attacks.  Why are they so reluctant to fight?

1. Mardonius is waiting for his prize stallion, the white horse with which he has never lost a battle.
2. Pausanius is waiting for a Persian chef to cook him a feast such as Xerxes would eat.
3. The Athenians have been attacked by an army of pro-Persian Greeks.
4. The omens for attacking remain unfavorable.

4–Once the Battle of Plataea is joined, the Greeks and Persians fight evenly for a while, but once Mardonius has been killed, the battle turns into a rout.  How does Herodotus explain the Greek victory?

1. Mardonius is too eager for glory.
2. Greeks are desperate to defend their homeland.
3. Pausanius outsmarts Mardonius.
4. It’s a case of light-armed soldiers taking on hoplites.

5–According to Thucydides, why do the Lacedaemonians vote for war against Athens (Lacedaemonia refers to the region of Greece in which the city of Sparta was located)?

1. Athens is waging a siege against Potidaea.
2. Athens is holding Corcyra by force.
3. Athenians fail to explain themselves well at the Congress of the Peloponnesian Confederacy.
4. Lacedaemonians fear the growth of power of the Athenians.

6–Graham Alison tells us that, since 1500, there have been 16 cases of 2 superpowers colliding.  What else does Alison tell us?

1. In 12 out of 16 cases, war was averted.
2. In 4 out of 16 cases, war was averted.
3. It is likely that China and the US will go to war.
4. It is inevitable that China and the US will go to war.
5. It is unlikely that China and the US will go to war.

7–China has many present reasons to be angry at the US and many historical reasons as well.  Which of the following might be called present reasons that could lead to war?

1. Unequal treaties.
2. US courtship of dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong-un.
3. Opium wars.
4. US is siding with Japan regarding islands in the South China Sea.

8—The US has many reasons to fear China.  Which of the following is mentioned by Alison?

1. Chinese economy is overtaking the US economy as the greatest economy in the world.
2. Under Xi Jinping, the era of “hide and bide” is over.
3. In a recent Pew poll, more people around the world trust Xi Jinping than Donald Trump.
4. US will very soon need to share predominance in the Western Pacific with China.

Module 5: Living in a Capitalist World

12—Marx believes that human history has moved through stages to arrive at the capitalist era.  Which of the following correctly reflects Marx’s ideas as expressed in The Communist Manifesto?

1. The capitalist world grew out of and replaced the feudal era.
2. First came the caveman; next came caveman capitalism.
3. Serfs became burghers; burghers became bourgeoisie.
4. Bourgeoisie over time converted little workshops into great factories.

13—Marx believes that the proletariat is the social class which will change the world forever.  Which of the following correctly reflects Marx’s ideas about the proletariat as expressed in The Communist Manifesto?

a—The proletariat is the working class, the people who run the machines in the factories for the benefit of the bourgeoisie.

b—The bourgeoisie not merely created the factories and the machines; the bourgeoisie created the new class of people, the proletariat, to run the machines.

c—The proletariat have become not merely the slaves of the bourgeoisie; they have become the slaves of the machines they operate.

d—In one way, however, the bourgeoisie is jealous of the proletariat; they are jealous of the black caps, the denim shirts and the khaki trousers that form an ensemble known as “proletarian chic.”

14—Marx believes that class struggle has been a constant in human history from the beginning up to the present day.  Which of the following correctly reflects Marx’s ideas about human history as expressed in The Communist Manifesto?

            a—homo sapiens sometimes had babies with Neanderthals but eventually wiped Neanderthals out.

b—The class struggle in ancient Rome involved a variety of classes, from patricians down to slaves.

c–The class struggle in feudal Europe also involved a variety of classes, from feudal lords down to serfs.

d—Now that the capitalist era has arrived, Marx tells us, the class struggle has been reduced to 2 classes: the bourgeoisie or capitalists (those who own the means of production) and the proletariat (those who essentially own nothing except their own ability to provide labor in the capitalists’ factories).

15—Marx tells us that feudal Europe in the Middle Ages was very different from Europe once the capitalist order took hold.  Which of the following correctly reflects Marx’s ideas about the difference between capitalism and feudalism as expressed in The Communist Manifesto?

1. In feudal Europe, the most important aspect of daily life was the need to keep everyone in their place.
2. In feudal Europe, serfs, or peasants, were expected to always defer to their natural superiors.
3. In feudal Europe, a serf might become a townsperson or a burgher.
4. In feudal Europe, a burgher might become a member of a guild (a guild being an association of craftspeople who made a particular product).
5. Capitalism caused political centralization: one nation, one government, one code of laws….

16—The discovery of America, Marx tells us, played a critical role in the rise of the bourgeoisie.  Which of the following correctly reflects Marx’s ideas regarding the importance of the discovery of America?

1. The market for manufactured goods grew into a world market.
2. The capability of the bourgeoisie to produce new goods and services made this class indispensable to European monarchs as a means of minimizing the importance of the old aristocracy.
3. The bourgeoisie dispensed with the powdered wigs and silk breeches of the old aristocracy in favor of long pants, top hats, and neatly trimmed beards.
4. The bourgeoisie became so powerful that all of the professional people who used to be respected (doctors, advocates, ministers, etc.) became mere laborers on behalf of the bourgeois world order.

17—The bourgeoisie, says Marx, created a world order unlike anything the world had ever seen.  Everyone in this new world order became both a worried and over-worked producer of products and a hard-to-please consumer of products.  Which the following reflects Marx’s understanding of the capitalist world order?

1. In the capitalist world order, businesses must continuously convince their customers to buy by offering them the newest and the best.
2. This means that factories are continuously changing.
3. This means that the work environment must constantly change.
4. In order to avoid being out-competed for new customers, companies must constantly expand their markets and sell to new buyers.
5. People have to understand that they only have jobs so long as their company is making money and so long as they, as producers, cannot be replaced.

18—Meanwhile, says Marx, the proletariat was growing larger and more powerful.  Which of the following reflects Marx’s understanding of the proletariat?

1. The proletariat was the modern working class.
2. The factory of Marx’s day (mid-19^th century) had many machines and many work-stations.  The proletariat were like privates in an industrial army.
3. As industry became more modern, there was a greater and greater need for workers and the workers became concentrated in larger and larger factories.
4. To some degree, the workers were in competition with one another for jobs.  But they were managing to form associations and unions.
5. The proletariat’s unions achieved their greatest victories, not in winning better working conditions, but in gaining a sense of common purpose.

19—Eventually, says Marx, a decisive hour will come.  Which of the following reflects Marx’s understanding of this moment in history?

1. The bourgeoisie will somehow splinter and a significant portion of the bourgeoisie will make clear that they support the proletariat.
2. The proletariat, knowing itself to be the most numerous class, will rise up and “settle matters” with the bourgeoisie.
3. Once the proletariat has risen up, the entire economic and political order will necessarily change.

20—Module 5 includes a VoiceThread entitled, “Communist Manifesto: Strengths and Weaknesses.”  This is a commentary prepared by your teacher 170 years after Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto.  Which of the following reflects the opinions in the VoiceThread regarding revolutions which occurred in the 19^th and 20^th centuries?

1. The Paris Commune of 1870-1871 did not reflect a mass uprising of the proletariat so much as a revolt made possible by the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War.
2. The Russian Revolution of 1917 did not reflect a mass uprising of the proletariat so much as coup by a small revolutionary cadre made possible by Russian military losses to Germany in World War I.
3. The Chinese Revolution of 1948-1952 did not reflect a mass uprising of the proletariat so much as a civil war made possible by, among other things, the Japanese invasion of China.
4. None of the revolutions discussed in the VoiceThread follow the pattern predicted by Marx.

21—Module 5 also includes an article by Adam Davidson, published in 2012, entitled, “Making It in America.”  Davidson is asking about the future of manufacturing in the US.  Our purpose, in considering this article, is to consider the future of capitalism.  To say it another way, our purpose is to consider the ways in Marx helps us look at the present, and the ways in which he does not.  Davidson tells us these things about Standard Motor Products.  Which of these facts about SMP in 2012 are consistent with Marx’s comments about capitalism, written in 1848?

1. Standard Motor Products has a stripped-down workforce.
2. Standard Motor Products used to be entirely owned by Larry Sills’ family.  Now they own less than 10% of the stock.
3. Maddie Parlier is proud of her work.
4. Maddie has an excellent work ethic.  She would like to advance in the company.  But it would cost a lot of money to train her and SMP is unlikely to do this.
5. To operate a Gildermeister takes a lot of schooling and a lot of skill.

22—Here are some additional facts about Standard Motor Products which Davidson tells us.  Which of these facts about SMP in 2012 are consistent with Marx’s comments about capitalism, written in 1848?

1. SMP’s headquarters in Queens has a “green roof” of which the boss, Larry Sills, is very proud.
2. SMP no longer owns the building in Queens.  Larry sold it in the Great Recession of 2008.
3. SMP no longer manufactures any of its products in Queens.
4. Managers at SMP continuously ask themselves about the products they sell: should we be manufacturing this product in South Carolina, in Mexico, in Poland, or should we be buying it from a manufacturer in China?
5. SMP was founded 100 years ago to manufacture after-market auto parts.  The company is still in business, still manufacturing after-market auto parts.