Quiz: Imperialism, the Last Stage of Capitalism

10 questions drawn at random. Score 80% for a silver medal.

1. Which admirer of German imperialism does Lenin quote at the end, appealing to Saint-Simon’s prophecies? Schulze-Gaevernitz Rudolf Hilferding Riesser Liefmann
2. What forms of dependence besides colonies does Lenin describe? Only military alliances, binding smaller states such as Belgium and Holland to the great powers Semi-colonies and financially dependent states such as Argentina and Portugal Only trade agreements, by which weaker states grant low tariffs to the goods of stronger ones None at all: every country, in his view, is either a colony or a fully independent power
3. What union of industrial and banking capital does Lenin say the most advanced countries have achieved? A “personal union” A gold-standard monetary union A state union A customs union
4. Which two wars does Lenin say stimulated the literature on imperialism? The Second Opium War (1856–60) and the Zulu War of 1879 The Spanish-American War (1898) and the Boer War (1899–1902) The Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) and the Balkan Wars (1912–13) The Crimean War (1853–56) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71)
5. Which term does Lenin say is passing into economic literature? The workers’ state The “Bondholder State” (Rentnerstaat) The welfare state The night-watchman state of the liberals
6. Which famous American petrol trust does Lenin cite? The Royal Dutch-Shell group U.S. Steel The Standard Oil Company General Motors
7. What does Lenin say imperialism is the eve of? World peace A new feudalism The socialist revolution The collapse of civilisation
8. What is Lenin’s briefest possible definition of imperialism? The policy of armed colonial conquest The monopoly stage of capitalism The rule of empires The export of goods to the colonies
9. What class does Lenin say grows under imperialism, “people who live by clipping coupons”? Civil engineers Bondholders Small peasants Skilled industrial workers
10. What has free competition turned into, according to Lenin? Socialism Free trade Monopoly State ownership

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