Marxist IQ

Eric Hobsbawn, one of the leading Marxist historians in the English language, passed away this week.  The following Marxist IQ is in in honor of  Eric Hobsbawm

1     Eric Hobsbawn contended in his Age of Revolution, that the late 18  and early 19 th century saw

a.          The American revolution as the greatest  of all revolutions

b.      Two great revolutions, the French political revolution and the British industrial revolution

c.       The great revolution in thought represented by the Enlightenment

d.      The great revolution in music represented by Beethoven

2  Before the rise of industrial capitalism in the nineteenth century, Eric Hobsbawm contended  that most of the peoples of Europe and Asia

a.       Lived in agricultural societies without great differences between societies  in access to consumer goods, use of technology,  life expectancies and  social conditions

b.      Western European civilization towered above all others

c.       Chinese civilization provided the highest standard of education and living

d.      Indian civilization represented the most advanced art, music, and poetry

3  In The Age of Empire, Hobsbawm contended that  Industrial capitalism saw Western Europe, Britain, and North America

a.       Face the alienation of modernity

b.      Seek to spread the benefits of modern science and technology through the world

c.       Develop large advantages in  technology, productive capacity, standards of living and life expectancy over the rest of the world that provided the context for modern imperialism

d.      Face threats from Africa, Asia, and Latin America

4.  In the Age of Extremes, Eric Hobsbawm saw the era from the end of  WWII to the seventies as a  globally  a golden age because

a The labor party established the welfare state in Britain

b The U.S. saved capitalism and democracy in Europe through the Truman Doctrine, the Marsall Plan, and NATO

c The United Nations brought peace and harmony to the world

d  Globally, economic planning, public sector development, social investments led to a huge rise in living although uneven rise in living standards and social well being over the prewar world

5.  Eric Hobsbawm’s work has been criticized by some fellow Marxists and socialists because

a. He refused to denounce the Communist Party of Great Britain

b.  He was unsympathetic to bebop

c. His work, even with its global reach, was seen as unduly Euro Centric

d. He refused to criticize the Soviet Union

Answers to last week's IQ

1.c

2.b

3.d

4.c

5.c

bonus question

c again