ULUSLARARASI İLİŞKİLER TEORİLERİ I

Classic Marxist theory is essentially based on the evolution of capitalism and class conflict in the Western world. The correct answer is A.

Marxism has its main intellectual origins in German philosophy, English political economy, and French utopianism. It is from the German philosopher Georg W. F. Hegel that Marx learned a way of thinking about the world, called “dialectics”. British political economists, especially Adam Smith and David Ricardo, provided Marx with a first approximation of his labor theory of value. Finally from many French utopians, such as Charles Fourier and the Comte de Saint-Simon, Marx borrowed the idea of a happier future beyond capitalism. The correct answer is C.

Lenin’s theory of imperialism revolves around the idea of systematic exploitation of poor economies by rich economies. According to Lenin, monopoly is the key to understand this exploitation in that it represents the highest stage of capitalism.The correct answer is D.

Joseph A. Schumpeter argued that international conflicts certainly precede advanced capitalism and the emergence of advanced capitalist states. Hans J. Morgenthau argued that it is the ruling classes, not the capitalists, in any state who take the decisions to go to war. Raymond Aron, in analyzing the First World War, gives a special importance to the Anglo-German rivalry over arms race and sphere of influence, denying that this had much to do with capitalism. Lenin viewed the First World War as a struggle among the advanced capitalist powers for the control of colonies and markets. The correct answer is E.

Isolationism, in a generic sense, refers to a national policy of avoiding political or economic entanglements with other countries. The correct answer is B.

Cultural hegemony, in a generic sense, is the dominant ideology of the society that reflects the beliefs and interests of the ruling class. More specifically, the term refers to the ability of a group of people to hold power over social institutions, and thus, to strongly influence the values, norms, and worldview of the rest of society. The correct answer is B.

Neo-Marxism focuses especially on the issues of underdeveloped and core-developed country relations. In this regard, many neo-Marxists accuse the West that represents the world capitalist system of keeping underdeveloped countries in a position of subordination and dependence through limiting investments and bribing local elites. The correct answer is D.

World system theory is put forth by Immanuel M. Wallerstein. The correct answer is A.

The North-South division refers to the structural inequalities in the international economy. The North is roughly composed of developed northern hemisphere countries, while the South is comprised of underdeveloped or developing Third World countries. This categorization ignores the geographic position of some countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, taking placing in the South, yet being labeled as part of the North. The developed countries of the North account for over 90 percent of all manufacturing industries in the world. Even though these countries account for only one quarter of the total global population, they control almost 80 percent of the world’s total income. On the other hand, the countries in the South are characterized by low level of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and high population. These countries account for only a fifth of the global income for over three quarters of the global population. The correct answer is A.

The  United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 has a total of eight goals revealed within this program were eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combatting fatal diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development. The correct answer is D.

Classic Marxist theory is essentially based on the evolution of capitalism and class conflict in the Western world. It is argued that the capitalism of 19th century in Europe emerged out of the earlier feudal system. In the capitalist system, private interests control labor and market exchanges. A clash inevitably arises between the controlling capitalist class and the controlled working class. The correct answer is C.

Marx and Engels predicted the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism by workers and the eventual attainment of a classless society. A clash inevitably arises between the controlling capitalist class and the controlled working class. Out of this clash, a new socialist order is born in the end. The correct answer is B.

In the theory of alienation, Marx argues that workers in the capitalist society do not own the means of production, such as machines, raw materials, or factories. These are owned by the capitalists to whom the workers must sell their labor force. This system of labor displays four relations that lie at the core of Marx’s theory of alienation: First, the worker is alienated from his or her productive activity, playing no part in deciding what to do or how to do. Second, the worker is alienated from the product of that activity, having no control over what happens to it. Third, the worker is alienated from other human beings, with competition and mutual indifference. This applies not only to relations with the capitalists, who use their control over the worker’s activity and product to further their own profit maximizing interests, but also to relations between individuals inside the working class as everyone tries to survive as best as he or she can. Finally, the worker is alienated from the distinctive potential for creativity and community. As a result, workers gradually lose their ability to develop finer qualities as members of human species. The correct answer is B.

Marx argues that the actual course of history is determined by class struggle.  To Marx, each class is defined chiefly by its relation to the production process. The interests of the capitalists lie in securing their power and expanding profits. Workers, on the other hand, have interests in higher wages and better working conditions. In order to realize them, they need a new distribution of power. These two major classes constantly try to promote their interests at the expense of the other and their goals are truly incompatible.  In this battle, the capitalists are aided by their wealth, their control of the state, and their domination over other institutions, such as schools, media, and religious institutions that guide people’s thinking. In brief, choice E reflects a view of Marx, so it is not a criticism against classical Marxism. The correct answer is E.

False consciousness, in Marxist philosophy, refers to the notion that members of the proletariat unwittingly misperceive their real position in society and systematically misunderstand their true interests within the social relations of production under capitalism. False consciousness, to Marx, denotes people’s inability to recognize inequality, oppression, and exploitation in a capitalist society. The correct answer is D.

Following Marxist thought and inspired by the work of Hobson, Lenin (1870-1924) also developed a theory of imperialism. In fact, it would not perhaps be wrong to say that the best-known theorist of imperialism is Lenin, who expressed his ideas in his influential book, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, first published in 1916. The correct answer is B.

Lenin viewed the war as a struggle among the advanced capitalist powers for the control of colonies and markets. To Lenin, capitalist countries first formed alliances for the exploitation of underdeveloped areas, especially in Africa and East Asia. They claimed territories and spheres of influence. Yet eventually capitalist countries had to fight, since overseas markets and raw materials were not limitless. Because the advanced capitalist economic system was dependent heavily upon new markets and raw materials to survive, a large-scale conflict became endemic. The correct answer is D.

The world-system, as used by Wallerstein, refers to the inter-regional and transnational division of labor that divides the world into  core countries,  semi-periphery countries, and periphery countries.  While core countries focus on high-skill and capital-intensive productions, the rest of the world basically focuses on low-skill, labor-intensive productions. This, in turn, constantly reinforces the dominance of core countries over underdeveloped ones. The correct answer is A.

The permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are the five states that the United Nations Charter grants a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. These are the United States, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, France and People’s Republic of China. The correct answer is C.

Marx tried to understand how the capitalist society works, how it arose out of feudalism, and where it is likely to lead. Concentrating on the social and economic relations in which people earn their livings, Marx saw behind capitalism a struggle of two main classes: the capitalists, who own the productive resources, and the workers or proletariat, who sell their labor force to survive. Marxism is basically Marx’s analysis of the complex and developing relations between these two classes.