Question 1

The "cabinet" of the Communist Party is generally known as:

Accepted Answer

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

Question 2

Lenin's term for those who would need to carry out revolution is known as the:

Accepted Answer

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

Question 3

Lenin and Mao differed from Marx because they believed:

Accepted Answer

A)  that revolutions did not have to be Communist.
B)  that elections did not have to be held.
C)  that revolutions could take place in less advanced countries.
D)  in a socialist economy.
E)  in the need to retain religion under communism. C

Question 4

Communist political-economic systems relied on a system known as:

Accepted Answer

A)  decentralized planning.
B)  central planning.
C)  economic voluntarism.
D)  spontaneous production.
E)  anarchism.

Question 5

Gorbachev's perestroika was concerned with:

Accepted Answer

A)  economic and political reforms.
B)  military disarmament.
C)  devolution and federalism.
D)  political openness and liberalization.
E)  religious freedom.

Question 6

The first Communist revolution took place in:

Accepted Answer

A)  Russia.
B)  China.
C)  Hungary.
D)  Cuba.
E)  Mexico

Question 7

Under communism, religion and nationalism were:

Accepted Answer

A)  embraced and "socialized."
B)  suppressed.
C)  tolerated as relics that would fade in time.
D)  merged into a single belief in an earth goddess.
E)  willingly abandoned by the public.

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 10

Marx called all noneconomic relations in a society, including religion and culture, the:

Accepted Answer

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

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 12

Gorbachev's policy of glasnost was concerned with:

Accepted Answer

A)  economic restructuring.
B)  military disarmament.
C)  devolution and federalism.
D)  political openness and liberalization.
E)  religious freedom.

Question 13

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

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why was communism able to spread across...

Question 14

Immediately after the revolution, Marx argued that there would need to be:

Accepted Answer

A)  a utopian paradise.
B)  a capitalist economy.
C)  a dictatorship of the proletariat.
D)  free elections.
E)  a global war.

Question 15

The individual typically associated with articulating the theories of communism is:

Accepted Answer

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

Question 16

The bourgeoisie are the:

Accepted Answer

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

Question 17

Given all the changes that Communist countries have undergone, how would one measure their progress toward democracy and capitalism?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Given all the changes that Communist countries...

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

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 19

Economic reform has been most successful in:

Accepted Answer

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

Question 20

For Marxists, socialism represents:

Accepted Answer

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

Exam 9: Communism and Postcommunism