The global crisis instigated by finance capital continues as important elections are held today in Greece and to a lesser extant France. The following questions relate to the crisis
1. The most hopeful developments at the moment for Communists and the broad left are
a. Spain and the Socialist Workers Party
b. Greece and Syriza
c. Britain and the British Labor Party
d. Germany and the Green Party
2. The fact that most European social democratic parties have accepted some version of the austerity program supports the view that
a. Austerity is in the interests of the working class
b. Austerity is a social democratic program
c. that social democrats can be , as Lenin contended, capitalism’s “labor lieutenants”
d. Austerity is inevitable
3. Communists have always seen austerity policies as
a. a policy to restore economic stability
b. an opportunity to mobilize the working class to make socialist revolutions
c. an excuse to denounce liberals and social democrats
d. the standard policy of capitalists to make workers pay for capitalist crisis
4. In the United States, the economic crisis which struck in 2008 was the result of
a. Nearly 60 years of wasteful multi-trillion dollar military spending
b. Nearly 30 years of government tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy
c. Nearly 30 years of government “deregulation” of finance and industry
d. All of the above
5. The best hope to end the crisis in the interests of the working class is
a. A third world war which would produce socialist revolutions to end capitalism
b. The strengthening of the IMF and World Bank to bail out economies
c. The repeal of all of the policies mentioned in question four, and policies to restructure debt and raise mass purchasing power internationally
d. The election of Tea Party Republicans to abolish the Federal Reserve Board, restore the gold standard, abolish all taxes, and fund government through voluntary contributions.
Answers to last week's Marxist IQ
1.c
2.d
3.d
4.d
5.b
