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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What does Veblen say possessions indicate in an ownership society?
(a) The virtue of the possessor.
(b) The power of the possessor.
(c) The fame of the possessor.
(d) The nobility of the possessor.

3. What term does Veblen use to describe horses and dogs?
(a) Pecuniary beauty.
(b) Pecuniary respectability.
(c) Conspicuous beauty.
(d) Conspicuous consumption.

4. What does Veblen say emulation leads to?
(a) Conspicuous produciton.
(b) Conspicuous servitude.
(c) Conspicuous consumption.
(d) Conspicuous waste.

5. What does Veblen say makes wealth desirable?
(a) It is honorable.
(b) It resolves disputes.
(c) It gives renown.
(d) It provides happiness.

6. What does Veblen call the code of conduct for servants?
(a) Conspicuous discomfort.
(b) Mechanical efficiency.
(c) Service with a smile.
(d) Conspicuous subservience.

7. How does Veblen say members of a society are ranked and judged?
(a) In terms of their wealth.
(b) In terms of their morals.
(c) In terms of their noble lineage.
(d) In terms of their power.

8. What does consumption yield to the individual?
(a) Wealth.
(b) Reputation.
(c) Status.
(d) Utility.

9. What was the state of the leisure class in hunting cultures?
(a) It did not exist.
(b) It existed only for the priests.
(c) It was highly developed, and hunters exploit the women for their labor.
(d) It was developing but still competing with the communal lifestyle.

10. What does Veblen say happens to cultures that develop knowledge and tools?
(a) They become more decadent.
(b) They become more warlike.
(c) They become more diplomatic.
(d) They become more efficient.

11. What standard does Veblen say guides people's behavior?
(a) The standard of the highest ranking relative in their ancestry.
(b) The standard of the class they were born into.
(c) The standard of the class just beyond their reach.
(d) The standard of the people surrounding them.

12. What did men use to display their exploits during the earliest forms of ownership?
(a) Stories.
(b) Enemy women.
(c) Gold.
(d) War booty.

13. How does Veblen say wealth is obtained?
(a) Through conspicious consumption.
(b) Through hoarding.
(c) Through exploitation.
(d) Through labor.

14. What allowed a leisure class to emerge?
(a) Expansion of the military.
(b) Differentiation and specialization of labor.
(c) Exploitation of workers.
(d) Improvements in production efficiency.

15. What does Veblen say causes the emergence of crimes against property?
(a) The sanctification of property.
(b) The development of debt.
(c) The emergence of money.
(d) The exploitation of labor.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Veblen say about the upper classes in Iceland and Polynesia?

2. To whom does the requirement of excessive clothing apply most?

3. Why do people spend more than they need for physical comfort?

4. What does Veblen say causes an item of clothing to be seen as inferior?

5. What distinction does Veblen say emerged between types of labor in cultures that had a leisure class?

(see the answer keys)

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