Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory: Text and Readings Third Edition Test Bank

Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory, Third Edition Instructor Resource 1. Which of the following is a “class” in capitalism according to Marx? a. Protestants *b. wage laborers c. villagers d. Communism 2. Marx refers to the middle-class owners of capital as a. prolétariat. *b. bourgeoisie. c. verstehen. d. veblen. 3. Classes are groups of individuals who share a common position in relation to a. their religious affiliation b. how they interpret the world *c. the forces of production d. how they consume products 4. For Marx, which of the following is a catalyst for social change and the prime mover of history? a. forces of production b. bourgeoisie c. alienation *d. class struggle 5. Marx refers to propertyless wage earners as *a. proletariat b. bourgeoisie c. verstehen d. veblen 6. Marx used the term class consciousness to refer to: *a. an awareness on the part of the working class of their common relationship to the means of production b. the alienation of the working class c. the false ideology of the working class d. the sense of entitlement of the middle class 7. According to the authors, Karl Marx’s basic theoretical orientation would fall under the category of: a. nonrational, collective b. nonrational, individual c. rational, individual *d. rational, collective 1 Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory, Third Edition Instructor Resource 8. According to Marx’s materialist conception of history, ideas or consciousness is determined by a. the fetishism of commodities b. forms of legitimate authority *c. the forces and relations of production; what individuals produce and how they produce it d. the conceptual categories through which we order experience 9. Whose theory is Marx inverting when he states “Life is not determined by consciousness, but consciousness by life”? a. Antonio Gramsci b. Friedrich Engels *c. Georg W.F. Hegel d. Thorstein Veblen 10. What term does Marx use to refer to when the process of production and the results of our labor confront us as a dominating power? a. class struggle b. forces of production *c. alienation d. proletariat 11.What is Marx referring to when he writes “The universality of its property is the omnipotence of its being”? a. power *b. money c. authority d. alienation 12. Marx states the capitalist class will produce its own “grave-diggers”. For Marx, who are these “diggers”? a. the bourgeoisie b. new capitalists *c. class-conscious proletariat d. owners of capital 13. What will become a fetter to the continued development of the means of production? a. class struggle b. ownership of production *c. social relations of production d. class consciousness 14. According to Marx, the standard on which the value of commodities is based is a. the degree of usefulness of the commodity *b. the amount of labor time necessary to produce the commodity c. the level of exploitation experienced by the worker d. the exchange of private property necessary for actualizing an exchange 2 Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory, Third Edition Instructor Resource 15. Marx defined surplus value as a. difference between the number of workers and the number of products produced *b. difference between what workers earn for their labor and the price or value of the goods they produce c. difference between the number of workers and the number of consumers in the same market d. the difference between what the workers earn across competing companies in the same market 16. Marx argues that fetishizing commodities a. creates the conditions necessary for developing class consciousness and thus sparking the communist revolution *b. leads us to attribute magical, personally transforming properties to the goods we buy c. leads workers to endow machines with human qualities and assign the source of their exploitation to technology and the production of commodities d. increases the surplus value produced during the production process 17. The cycle of exchange for the typical wage earner as outlined by Marx resembles which pattern? a. M-C-M b. M-C-M-C *c. C-M-C d. C-M-C-M 18. Raw materials, machinery for production or even more generally money, in Marx’s economic framework, are all considered a. commodities b. goods *c. capital d. surplus 19. Which classical sociological theorist wrote The Origin of Family, Private Property, and the State? a. Karl Marx b. Emile Durkheim *c. Friedrich Engels d. Max Weber 20. The Origin of Family, Private Property, and the State has which of the following as a foundation for its conception of history? a. Hegelianism *b. Materialism c. Interactionism d. Economism 21. InThe Origin of Family, Private Property, and the State, what term is used to refer to the period of communally organized hunting and gathering societies? 3 Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory, Third Edition Instructor Resource a. stage of barbarism b. mechanical solidarity *c. state of savagery d. organic solidarity 22. Which form of family resulted in a new division of labor wherein the man received exclusive ownership of the means of production? *a. pairing family b. polygyny c. group marriage d. polygamy 23. According to Engels, which of the following ultimately became the decisive center of power in a civilized society? a. bourgeoisie *b. the state c. proletariat d. the family 24. Marx believed that capitalism was morally a good system; but that economically, it was doomed to fail. a. True *b. False 25. Marx believed that capitalism was a necessary stage in the transition toward socialism/communism. *a. True b. False 26. As discussed by the authors, Marx’s basic theoretical orientation could be said to be individualist and nonrational. a. True *b. False 27. The superstructure consists of everything non-economic such as legal, political, and educational systems. *a. True b. False 28. Marx’s arguments stems from his agreement with Hegel on the real basis of the progression of human societies. a. True *b. False 29. The dominant economic class controls only a society’s means of material production. a. True 4 Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory, Third Edition Instructor Resource *b. False 30. It will be the proletariat who “chokes” on the overabundance of goods produced by ever increasing industrial efficiency. a. True *b. False 31. From Marx’s perspective, the “grave-diggers” are a class conscious proletariat. *a. True b. False 32. Capitalists derive their profit from the surplus value workers earn for them. *a. True b. False 33. The two factors of a commodity according to Marx are its use and surplus values. a. True *b. False 34. Engels is credited with The Origin of Family, Private Property and the State because at the time Marx was in hiding due to his exile. a. True *b. False 35. Barbarism is marked by the domestication and breeding of animals for food, the development of irrigation techniques for the cultivation of crops, and iron plows for tilling large fields. *a. True b. False 36. One of the most important changes effecting gender relations according to The Origin of Family, Private Property and the State is the overturning of “mother-right” lines of descent. *a. True b. False 37. According to The Origin of Family, Private Property and the State, monogamous marriage provided women with the freedom, honor, and respect lacking during the “backward” period of barbarism. a. True *b. False 38. Many anthropologists and historians believe Engels’s ethnographically and historically accurate portrayal of the premodern family is the real strength behind The Origin of the Family. a. True *b. False Type: E 5 Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory, Third Edition Instructor Resource 39. What role does private property play in Marx’s discussion of the inevitable communist revolution? *a. Varies. Must discuss the role of private property in a capitalist system v. community property. Presents a detail description of the types of property Marx identifies. Must mention the owners of property and the owners of labor, and what each means to the communist revolution that it doesn’t mean to the capitalist Type: E 40. What role does class consciousness play according to Marx in the evolution of society? *a. Knowledge of one’s place in the scheme of society as: Must list what makes class distinctions; Must list and define the evolution of society. Describing the sequence of this evolution and each phase. Type: E 41. According to Marx’s materialist conception of history, what is the relationship between property and ideas or consciousness? *a. List how one owning property affects the view that one has of humanity. List examples of property ownership, ideas and what people are aware of and how so. Describe the relationship of both. Type: E 42. Explain the following types of estrangement under capitalism as outlined by Marx, using concrete examples: man from man-from one another by class. man from nature-from the natural resources that one depends on for production of goods. man from self- from what one makes and from what one is. *a. Varies. Defines and describes each of the estrangement types delineating what sets them apart from each other, as types. Type: E 43. What does Marx mean when he writes “…money is thus the object of eminent possession”? *a. Varies. Discusses the relationships that money has with ownership of: goods, labor, means of production. Type: E 44. Discuss Marx’s concept “the fetishism of commodities” from Capital. *a. Varies. Examples of needs over wants, modern day and/or from Marx’s time. Type: E 45. Explain the role “pairing families” and monogamy play in the subjugation of women in civilized society. *a. Varies. Discusses domestic servitude and who serves whom and for what reasons. Women’s role within the family unit and their relative position to male counterparts. Type: E 46. When most people discuss Marx in the everyday, in what context is his work discussed? Is the common understanding of Marx’s work, correct. Be specific. 6 Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory, Third Edition Instructor Resource *a. Varies. Capitalist “basher” that was adamantly against capitalism. So far Scholars do not agree with Political Pundits that Marx hated or was against Capitalism and explains how so. Discusses how Marx is misquoted. Type: E 47. Define Hegel’s dialectical process. Explain its significance in relation to Marx’s theory of history. Also explain its significance on Marx’s basic theoretical orientation. *a. Hegel saw change as the motor of history. For Hegel, change was driven by a dialectical process in which a given state of being or idea contains within it the seeds of an opposing state of being or opposing idea. The resolution of the conflict produces yet a new state of being or idea. This synthesis, in turn, forms the basis of a new contradiction, thus continuing the process of change. The essence of reality lies in thought or ideas because it is only in and through the concepts that order our experiences that experiences, as such, are known. Reality is a product of our conceptual categories or consciousness and thus has no existence independent of our own construction of it. Type: E 48. Define Marx’s concept of “species being.” Discuss its significance in relation to his concept of alienation. Use specific quotes from the “Economic Manuscripts” for support. *a. For the wage earner, work is alienating because it serves solely to provide the means (i.e., money) for maintaining her physical existence. Instead of labor representing an end in itself—an activity that expresses our capacity to shape our lives and our relationships with others—private ownership of the means of production reduces the role of the worker to that of a cog in a machine. The worker is an expendable object that performs routinized tasks. Put in another way, for Marx, working just for money—and not for the creative potential of labor it—is akin to selling your soul. Type: E 49. Explain in detail Marx’s general formula for capital. In your explanation define and relate the connection commodities and surplus value have to the general formula. *a. A cycle of exchange Marx labeled “M-C-M.” By definition, the capitalist enters into economic exchange already possessing capital(raw materials, machinery for production) or, more generally, money (M). Seeking to expand her business and profits, the capitalist converts her money into a commodity (C) by purchasing additional machinery, raw materials, or labor. The capitalist then uses these commodities to produce other commodities that are then sold for money (M). Hence, the meaning of the slogan, “It takes money to make money.” For the proletariat, the cycle of exchange takes an inverse path. Take a typical wage earner, for example. Type: E 50. Explain Marx’s line “a commodity is therefore a mysterious thing simply because in it the social character of men’s labor appears to them as an objective character stamped upon the product of that labor…” *a. Commodity fetishism refers to the distorted relationship existing between individuals and the production and consumption of goods. However, in fetishizing commodities, Marx argues that we treat the goods we buy as if they have “magical” powers. We lose sight of the fact that we create commodities and, in doing so; grant them a power over us that in reality they do not hold. 7 Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory, Third Edition Instructor Resource Fetishizing commodity production also prevents laborers from holding capitalists accountable for their growing dissatisfaction. Instead, workers will assign the source of their increasing exploitation not to the capitalists who benefit from it, but to the new technology. Type: E 51. Summarize the main points of Engels’s The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State. What weaknesses are present in this theory? What are the strengths of this theory (that you feel are still valid today)? *a. Varies. Organization of societies is determined by both the production of the means of existence and the reproduction of the species. Engels argued that prehistoric societies had passed through two stages of development—savagery and barbarism. Group marriages were replaced by the “pairing family” consisting of one man, one woman, and their children. The advent of the pairing family effected a new division of labor in which the man took responsibility for obtaining food and, with it, ownership of the means of production. The man’s power was further consolidated through overturning “mother-right” lines of descent. Laws of inheritance would henceforth be assigned through the male, not the female. 8