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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Conspicuous Consumption.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Veblen say about the upper classes in Iceland and Polynesia?
(a) That they invested the capital and give laborers the means of production.
(b) That they offered their vassals' labor to the priests.
(c) That they were barred from physical labor.
(d) That they worked alongside the rest.

2. How does Veblen describe hunting in a predatory culture?
(a) It was a form of sport.
(b) It was a necessary evil.
(c) It was the source of religion.
(d) It was the center of all activities.

3. What happens when men come into wealth through peaceful means?
(a) Property becomes an indicator of heritage.
(b) Property becomes the measure of spiritual values.
(c) Property becomes an indicator of success.
(d) Property becomes the subject of competition and warfare.

4. How does Veblen say the upper classes in an agricultural society see work?
(a) They master it.
(b) They idealize it.
(c) They envy it.
(d) They see it as dishonorable.

5. What does Veblen say happens to those who can afford not to work?
(a) They work at the most necessary jobs.
(b) They volunteer.
(c) They engage in conspicuous leisure.
(d) They help take care of the children and elders.

Short Answer Questions

1. As leisure classes develop, whom do the marginal men of leisure in the lower ranks affiliate themselves with?

2. What factors drove the emergence of the leisure class?

3. What stage of culture contained the institution of the leisure class?

4. What are signs of vicarious consumption?

5. What was the state of the leisure class in hunting cultures?

(see the answer key)

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