Deck 9: Class Consciousness and Class Conflict

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT one of the factors regarded by Marx as especially significant in the formation of class consciousness?

A) an awareness of membership in a group defined by economic position
B) a sense that a shared identity creates common interests and a common fate
C) a disposition to take collective action in pursuit of class interests
D) a recent improvement in working conditions

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Richard Centers was able to show that ______ were affected by class identification.

A) political opinions
B) attitudes toward the economy
C) decisions concerning higher education
D) both political opinions and decisions concerning higher education

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Class conflict is especially evident in which of the following two realms?

A) labor relations and higher education
B) electoral politics and higher education
C) health care and electoral politics
D) electoral politics and labor relations

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Most members of the working class in America tend to identify with the ______.

A) Democratic Party
B) Green Party
C) Communist Party
D) Republican Party

Question 5

Employers have played an instrumental role in suppressing union formation by exploiting differences of ______ among workers.

A) race and ethnicity
B) skill level
C) age
D) both race and ethnicity and skill level

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a revolution cited in the textbook?

A) Paris in 1871
B) Mexico in 1910
C) London in 1912
D) Moscow in 1917

Question 7

The right to union representation in the United States was written into the law through the ______.

A) National Labor Relations Act
B) American Labor Union Act
C) Organized Labor Act
D) National Labor Union Act

Question 8

During the period identified by Gilbert as the Age of Shared Prosperity, the labor movement became ______.

A) aggressive
B) satisfied
C) unaggressive
D) both satisfied and unaggressive

Question 9

People who recognize and articulate their class position are ______.

A) less likely to promote their class interests
B) more likely to promote their class interests
C) less likely to promote the use of revolution
D) more likely to promote the use of revolution

Question 10

Centers' studies of class identification studied ______.

A) men
B) women
C) children
D) Black women

Question 11

The political power of organized labor has declined considerably as its lessening ability to mobilize a diminishing union vote has resulted in a(n) ______ less conscientious to its needs.

A) Republican Party
B) upper class
C) Democratic Party
D) middle class

Question 12

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

A) The majority of Americans support liberal spending on social issues.
B) Conservative Republicans at the top of the class structure are more likely to be better informed politically.
C) More individuals toward the middle and bottom of the class structure are likely to be politically active.
D) Those at the top of the class structure contribute more money to political campaigns.

Question 13

Following World War II, business leaders accepted the existence of organized labor, but they insisted on retaining the right to manage all but which of the following?

A) contract negotiation
B) right to open and close plants
C) pricing of final products
D) product design

Question 14

Today's American labor movement is at its weakest point since ______.

A) World War II
B) the early 1970s
C) the 1920s
D) the Great Depression

Question 15

One of Marx's major objectives was to isolate the social conditions that encourage ______.

A) class consciousness
B) alienation
C) class structures
D) exploitation

Question 16

What did Richard Centers regard as the principal basis of class identification?

A) education level
B) occupation
C) family background
D) race

Question 17

What does class consciousness imply?

A) an awareness of membership in a group defined by economic position
B) a sense that this shared identity creates common interests and a common fate
C) a disposition to take collective action in pursuit of class interests
D) all of these

Question 18

In 2016, what percentage of respondents to the General Social Survey identified as middle class?

A) 32%
B) 41%
C) 50%
D) 63%

Question 19

Class conflict is especially evident in what realm?

A) electoral politics
B) labor relations
C) both electoral politics and labor relations
D) neither electoral politics nor labor relations

Question 20

Which group was NOT part of the New Deal coalition that gave the Democratic Party a lock on national politics?

A) soccer moms
B) blue-collar workers
C) Southerners
D) "White ethnics"

Question 21

According to many analysts, what has become more important than class in American elections?

A) religion
B) gender
C) race and ethnicity
D) age

Question 22

People with what family income level are least likely to vote?

A) under $10,000
B) $20,000 to $30,000
C) $75,000 to $100,000
D) $150,000 and above

Question 23

What percentage of all age and salary workers belonged to labor unions in 2019?

A) 10%
B) 20%
C) 30%
D) 40%

Question 24

In her book, sociologist Arlie Hochschild (2016) says that many alienated Whites now feel as if they are ______, which is also the title of her book.

A) misunderstood
B) the forgotten ones
C) left behind
D) strangers in their own land

Question 25

Although revolution is common, class struggle is rare.

Question 26

Marx's theory correctly predicted revolutionary activity in a number of advanced industrial countries.

Question 27

Richard Centers' studies of class identification only considered men.

Question 28

Consistently over time Democrats have done better among working-class voters than among middle-class voters.

Question 29

The Democratic Party has become increasingly attentive to the needs of organized labor in recent years.

Question 30

Organized labor in America has tended to focus on securing union recognition, economic security, and decent working condition, rather than fundamental changes in system.

Question 31

The working class in contemporary America has a strong class consciousness.

Question 32

Most Americans support periodic increases in the minimum wage.

Question 33

The revolutions that Marx anticipated in industrializing agrarian states occurred as he had predicted.

Question 34

Racial and ethnic identity have become more important than class in American elections.

Question 35

Astute politicians tend to craft their messages toward the middle and lower classes to increase participation in the political process.

Question 36

During the Age of Shared Prosperity, labor played a more dynamic role in national politics than in the workplace.

Question 37

Businesses now routinely secure the services of labor consultants to apply social science research to weaken organized labor.

Question 38

According to Hacker and Pierson, Americans pay more attention to the electoral spectacle than to the policy decisions that occur between elections.

Question 39

Donald Trump has been more successful in drawing the support of White working-class voters than any other Republican candidate in recent history.

Question 40

Over 50% of eligible adults don't vote national elections.

Question 41

People with family incomes of $150,000 and above are least likely to vote.

Question 42

By 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 20% of all wage and salary workers belonged to labor unions.

Question 43

Results from the 2016 GSS show that strong majorities of lower income Americans think the government is spending too little on child care, Social Security, and aid to the poor.

Question 44

How does income impact beliefs on social issues?

Question 45

List and provide a detailed description of four of the factors Marx regarded as especially significant in the development of a class consciousness among the working class.

Question 46

Define class consciousness.

Question 47

Why is government most attentive to those who least need its help?

Question 48

List three reasons why organized labor has been in decline.