Deck 49: George Packer, Change the World

Question 1

The people discussed in George Packer's "Change the World" are more likely to believe that change comes about

A) when everyone embraces a "religion of responsible ecological stewardship".
B) very slowly, but must be done across the entire spectrum of society: laws, attitudes, the economy, everyday practices, and institutional bureaucracies.
C) unevenly; not every problem has a solution.
D) not by "social and political action," but by developing businesses that connect people and organizations to one another, letting people share information that creates a more open society.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

What is meant by a "frictionless world" in the essay, "Change the World"?

A) a world without conflict
B) a world where everyone speaks his or her mind and everyone accepts differences of opinion
C) an androgynous world, that is, one where male and female (and any gender combination or variation) are not defined in specific ways, but everyone is free to be "gendered" in any way they wish
D) a world where technology creates progress and wealth by reducing all barriers to interaction and insuring errorless, almost instantaneous information

Answer 2

D

Question 3

For the people George Packer studied (in "Change the World"), the solution to many, if not most social, political, and economic problems lies in

A) the transformation in the way people relate to and think about one another.
B) new technology.
C) the formation of mass social movements, similar to the modern civil rights movement.
D) a better educational system and more education for more people.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Overall, what political category does George Packer apply to the people he discussed in his essay, "Change the World"?

A) Progressive or left-leaning Democrats
B) Libertarians
C) socially liberal conservatives
D) Greens

Question 5

In addition to giving money for educational reform, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, (discussed in George Packer's "Change the World") has taken up what cause and given money to advance legislation?

A) immigration reform, especially the granting of more visas for immigrants with high-tech skills
B) the eradication of malaria and other diseases that take millions of lives annually
C) gun control, and especially the use of background checks to keep guns away from the mentally ill and those with felony convictions for violent crimes
D) gay marriage and the expansion of civil liberties and equal rights for all LGBT people

Question 6

Who is the subject of George Packer's essay, "Change the World"?

A) Tea Party activists (strongly conservative Republicans who oppose taxes and want a much "smaller government")
B) successful young entrepreneurs who have developed social networking and other innovations of digital technology in Silicon Valley, California
C) bioengineers and researchers exploring ways to change our genetic code to solve health, economic, and social problems
D) geoengineers who are devising ways to change weather patterns in order to increase food supply and blunt the effects of global climate change