Quiz: Why Is There No Socialism in the United States?

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

1. 1. What happened to the socialist vote in Colorado after the great strikes of 1903?

   It fell by half, as workers voted Democratic to beat Governor Peabody It doubled, just as the German experience of persecution would predict The socialists won the governorship It stayed exactly the same
2. 2. What is the “spoils system”, as Sombart describes it?

   The division of conquered western land among veterans The purchase of votes with liquor The sharing of trust profits with the workers who earned them Filling offices by party loyalty, not merit
3. 3. On what, in Sombart’s famous phrase, did all socialist utopias come to grief?

   Bread and circuses at the ballot-box Gold and silver from the western mines Whisky, tobacco and the saloon Roast beef and apple pie
4. 4. What is the “Winnetka system” adopted by the AFL?

   A method of settling strikes by arbitration A plan for a separate labour party on the British model A system of profit-sharing in the factories of the West Questioning candidates and voting by their answers
5. 5. On what, according to Sombart, does the German worker spend the larger share of income left after necessities?

   Alcoholic drinks Education and books for the children Savings in the bank Trade-union dues and insurance
6. 6. What contrast does Sombart draw between Nuremberg and Chicago?

   Nuremberg is larger; Chicago is a provincial town Nuremberg is industrial; Chicago is still agricultural Both are equally products of capitalist planning Nuremberg grew organically like a village; Chicago is a rational, artificial town
7. 7. What does Sombart consider above all the explanation of the American worker’s peaceable mood?

   The prohibition of alcohol in many states The high tariff Free homestead land in the West The influence of the churches and their temperance societies
8. 8. According to Sombart, from which three sources do the American parties draw their funds?

   Customs duties, land sales and bank loans Rich contributors, assessments on officials, and payments by candidates Foreign governments, churches and trade unions State subsidies, membership dues and lotteries
9. 9. Why can neither party take a firm stand on the alcohol question?

   The Irish are mostly Democrats and the Germans mostly Republicans, and both drink The temperance societies have pledged their votes to both parties in equal numbers Both parties are financed entirely by brewers in the big eastern cities Prohibition is already written into federal law for every state and territory
10. 10. Which socialist periodical, according to the preface, reprinted most of Sombart’s articles?

    The Appeal to Reason of Girard, Kansas The American Federationist of the A. F. of L. Die Neue Zeit, Kautsky’s Stuttgart weekly The International Socialist Review