Unit 9 Quiz

Historians argue that the twentieth century marks a significant break in world history for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

• Petroleum use fundamentally changed the relationship of humans to the environment.

• The population of the world increased from 1.6 billion to 6.1 billion people.

• Communists established powerful new states in Russia and China.

• Low-wage laborers migrated from continent to continent.

Which of the following types of data would most likely demonstrate a positive effect of economic globalization and thereby undermine the authors’ argument regarding free trade?

• Data on healthcare expenditure per capita in Western Europe and North America in the 1990s

• Data on employment levels and personal disposable income in Pacific Rim Asian countries in the 1990s

• Data on employment levels in traditional manufacturing areas of developed countries, such as the United States Rust Belt or the British Midlands, in the 1990s

• Data on the global growth of HIV infections in the 1990s

In the broader context of the 1990s, which of the following most likely limited the popular appeal of protests against the “global economic system” such as the ones called for in the passage?

• Global military tensions resulting from the expansion of NATO

• Rising concerns over environmental problems such as air pollution and ozone layer depletion

• The collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting absence of alternatives to the Western-dominated political and economic order

• The continuing reoccurrence of famines, civil wars, and other humanitarian crises in Third World countries, despite international efforts to address these crises

Answer explanation

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting sense that Western liberal democracy and international capitalism had won the Cold War significantly limited the popularity of left-wing challenges to the global political and economic status quo.

Based on the image and its historical context, which of the following can best be inferred about the artist’s primary purpose in creating the painting?

• To celebrate Chinese people’s continued devotion to communist ideology and their rejection of capitalism

• To offer an ironic commentary on the triumph of Western consumer culture in communist China

• To support the suppression of dissident thought during the long rule of Mao Zedong

• To make a plea for Westerners to develop a greater understanding of Chinese values

Based on the image and its historical context, which of the following can best be inferred about the artist’s primary purpose in creating the painting?

• To celebrate Chinese people’s continued devotion to communist ideology and their rejection of capitalism

• To offer an ironic commentary on the triumph of Western consumer culture in communist China

• To support the suppression of dissident thought during the long rule of Mao Zedong

• To make a plea for Westerners to develop a greater understanding of Chinese values

Based on the images, Banksy’s work best illustrates which of the following?

• The trend in modern art toward experimentation with abstract techniques and styles

• The spread of social protests against the inequalities of global economic integration

• The attainment of greater economic and political equality for women worldwide

• The expansion of educational opportunities in developing African, Asian, and Latin American countries

Based on the images, Banksy’s work best illustrates which of the following?

• The expansion of European empires led to the expansion of market economies worldwide.

• Greater industrial productivity and new technologies led to increased availability of consumer goods.

• Cold War rivalries led to ideological and economic competition between the Soviet Union and the United States.

• The continued volatility of economic cycles led many governments to enact social welfare legislation for their citizens.

Answer explanation

During the twentieth century and especially after the end of the Cold War, global industrial productivity increases made available a wider range of consumer items and new forms of communication encouraged the development of a worldwide consumer marketplace.

What was the leading cause of the unprecedented increase in global population in the twentieth century?

• The end of international epidemics

• Global warming and other types of climate change

• The impact of medical innovations and public health measures

• The reduction of world hunger

Which of the following was the most direct consequence of the widespread availability of a reliable birth control pill during the twentieth century?

• An increased participation of women in the workforce

• An increased percentage of men occupying political office

• An increased percentage of men primarily responsible for work within the household

• An increased infant mortality rate

Source 1

“I have long dreamed of buying an island owned by no nation whatsoever and of establishing the World Headquarters of the Dow company there, on the truly neutral ground of such an island, beholden to no nation or society. If we were located on such truly neutral ground, we could then operate in the United States as U.S. citizens, in Japan as Japanese citizens, and in Brazil as Brazilians rather than being governed primarily by the laws of the United States. We could even pay any native workers handsomely to move elsewhere.”

Carl. A. Gerstacker, chairman of the Dow Chemical Company, a United States corporation, speech before the White House “Conference on the Industrial World Ahead,” 1972

Source 2

“I was asked the other day about United States competitiveness in the world economy. I replied that I don’t think about it at all. We at NCR think of ourselves as a globally competitive company that happens to be headquartered in the United States.”

Gilbert Williamson, president of NCR Corporation, a United States technology company, interview with the New York Times, 1989

Question

The views expressed in the two passages were most directly enabled by which of the following economic trends in the late twentieth century?

• Many of the defeated countries in the Second World War received generous economic assistance from the United States after the war.

• Governments in newly independent postcolonial states sought to limit their countries’ economic reliance on the former colonial powers.

• The governments of many developed Western countries adopted policies of economic liberalization and deregulation.

• Governments in Asia cooperated with private businesses in an effort to maximize exports and acquire foreign currencies from Europe and the United States.