Civics Polity · Economics

Political and Economic Systems

1,968 Questions

Political and economic systems cover governance structures, economic ideologies, and class dynamics. Questions often explore capitalism, feudalism, totalitarianism, and libertarianism. This topic is essential for civil services and university entrance examinations, testing both political science and economics principles.

Political ideologiesTotalitarianism characteristicsCapitalism and anarchismMode of productionSocial class structures

Political and Economic Systems Questions

Multiple choice

Assertion (A): Fabianism is primarily a British middle class ideology. Reason (R): Fabians are opposed to evolutionary method.

  1. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A

  2. Both A and R are true, but R is not a correct explanation of A

  3. A is true, but R is false

  4. A is false, but R is true
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Fabianism was indeed a movement of British intellectuals and the middle class seeking social reform. The reason is false because Fabians are the primary proponents of the 'evolutionary' or gradualist method of achieving socialism, explicitly rejecting revolution.

Multiple choice

Assertion (A): According to Lenin, imperialism is the highest stage of capitalist development. Reason (R): Industrialization and modern technology did not constitute a model for the development of the lesser developed countries.

  1. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A

  2. Both A and R are true, but R is not a correct explanation of A

  3. A is true, but R is false

  4. A is false, but R is true
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Lenin's assertion that imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism is a core tenet of his theory. While the reason regarding industrialization models may be true in some theoretical contexts, it does not provide a logical explanation for why imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism.

Multiple choice

According to Karl Marx, four different types of societies emerged during the course of human history. Which one of the following is the correct chronological order of emergence of those societies?

  1. Slave - Feudal - Primitive Communism - Capitalism

  2. Feudal - Primitive Communism - Slave - Communist

  3. Primitive Communism - Slave - Feudal - Capitalist

  4. Primitive Communism - Feudal - Slave - Socialist
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

According to Marx's historical materialism, the chronological order of societies is: Primitive Communism (classless), Slave Society (masters/slaves), Feudal Society (lords/serfs), and Capitalist Society (bourgeoisie/proletariat).

Multiple choice

In Weber's view, which one of the following further stimulated the growth of bureaucratisation?

  1. Pressures of democratisation

  2. Influence of socialism

  3. Emergence of welfare state

  4. Rise of authoritarianism
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Max Weber argued that the pressures of democratization, including the demand for equality before the law and the expansion of state services to the masses, necessitated a more complex and efficient bureaucratic apparatus.

Multiple choice

The marketisation and privatization of public administration may result in:

  1. quasi-socialism

  2. laissez faire

  3. neo-capitalism

  4. liberalized regulations
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Marketisation and privatization are key elements of New Public Management, which seeks to introduce market mechanisms into the public sector. This process typically involves liberalizing regulations to allow for competition and private sector participation.

Multiple choice

Appropriation of surplus through extra economic coercion is the characteristics of which of the following societies?

1. Capitalist society 2. Feudal society 3. Ancient society

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. 1 and 2 only

  2. 1 and 3 only

  3. 2 and 3 only

  4. 1, 2 and 3
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Extra-economic coercion refers to the use of force or legal/political power to extract surplus, which is characteristic of feudal (serfdom) and ancient (slavery) societies, rather than capitalist systems which rely on market-based wage labor.

Multiple choice

Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists:

List I (Essential Idea of Capitalism) A. Rational organization of work and labour B. Exploitation of free wage labour C. Complex division of labour and economic interdependence D. Profit generating and risk taking entrepreneur

List II (Proponent) 1. J. Schumpeter 2. Max Weber 3. Karl Marx 4. E. Durkheim

  1. A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3

  2. A-2, B-3, C-4, D-1

  3. A-4, B-3, C-2, D-1

  4. A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Rational organization (Weber), exploitation of wage labor (Marx), complex division of labor (Durkheim), and risk-taking entrepreneur (Schumpeter) are standard associations in sociological theory.

Multiple choice

What is an economic system in which technicians and professionals are the preeminent social group and in which service industries are more important than the manufacturing, known as?

  1. Achieving society

  2. Socialist society

  3. Post-industrial society

  4. Late-capitalist society
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

A post-industrial society is characterized by a shift from manufacturing to service industries and the rise of a professional and technical class as the dominant social group.

Multiple choice

The term “Techno-capitalism” used by Neo- Marxist sociologists denotes which of the following? 1. A configuration of capitalist society. 2. Use of technical and scientific knowledge in production. 3. Automation, computers and advanced technology in production. 4. Variable capital in production. Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. 1, 3 and 4

  2. 1, 2 and 4

  3. 1, 2 and 3

  4. 2, 3 and 4
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Techno-capitalism refers to a stage of capitalism where scientific and technical knowledge are the primary drivers of production. It is characterized by high levels of automation, computerization, and the integration of advanced technology into the economic structure.

Multiple choice

In a socialist country, the government

  1. controls the means of production and distribution

  2. controls the means of production only

  3. control the means of distribution only

  4. distributes equal wealth among the citizens
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

In a socialist system, the state or government typically owns or controls the means of production and distribution to ensure equitable access and social welfare.

Multiple choice

' Public Sector' means

  1. Government ownership on commerce and trade

  2. Capitalist ownership on commerce and trade

  3. Private ownership on trade

  4. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The public sector consists of industries and services that are owned and managed by the government, as opposed to the private sector which is owned by individuals or corporations.