Samuel Cohn: Global Social Trends

1. The world functions best with

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a) The largest possible networks of human cooperation

b) The smallest possible networks of human cooperation

c) Two polarized groups cooperating among themselves to wipe out the other group

d) Everyone cooperating with the richest group which in turn bleeds everyone dry

2. If the environment falls apart, making economic life unsustainable, the result will be

a) More violence and terrorism

b) Less violence and terrorism

c) More violence and terrorism from people who have a worse religion than I do. People in my religious group  will be just wonderful.

d) More violence and terrorism in the regions suffering the worse ecological degradation

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3. More scientific research

a) Increases economic growth and improves the hopes of finding ecological solutions

b) Reduces economic growth and worsens the hopes of finding ecological solutions

c) Creates mad scientists who are going to blow us all up

d) Does nothing because most research is fake anyway.

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4. Corruption is caused by

a) Government officials who don’t have the money or resources to do their job making honesty irrelevant

b) People who are less honest than people in my ethnic group. People in my ethnic group are too moral to take bribes.

c) People who are less honest than people in my country. People in my country are too moral to take bribes.

d) People who are less honest than people in my political party. People in my political party are too moral to take bribes.

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5. Moving landed peasants off the land for development projects

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a) Causes violence and instability by reducing the number of landowning peasants who believe in preserving private property

b) Gets rid of enemies of progress. The dispossessed people won’t bother you or make any problems for you    later.

c) Moves people into slums which promotes positive economic growth by stimulating a sex industry

d) Encourages people without land to join warlord armies which will increase the military greatness and glory of  their home countries

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6. Gender equality between men and women

a) Promotes economic growth by increasing female labor force participation, female entrepreneurship and female education.

b) Reduces economic growth because the women waste all their money on clothes.

c) Increases warfare because men are irritable due to their nagging wives.

d) Lowers scientific and technological progress. Women don’t have good ideas but you have to have them in  labs anyway.

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7. Effective tax collection and adequate tax rates

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a) Are good for the economy because they guarantee there will be enough money for defense, education, infrastructure, and public health.

b) Are bad for the economy because we need small armies, bad schools, crumbling bridges and a sick population.

c) Are bad for the economy because if American CEOs paid fewer taxes, they would invest 100% of the difference in American jobs. They would not invest a single penny of that money in overseas investments, outsourcing, automation, stock buybacks or higher salaries for themselves.

d.) Are bad for me because I would pay more taxes and to hell with the society and economy and everyone else.

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8. The current economic boom based on personal computers, phones, the internet and software

a) Ultimately will have to come to an end as engineers run out of new improvements to hardware and new apps worth downloading.

b) Will never end because technological progress goes on forever

c) Will never end because the Chinese and the Indians and the Russians and the Nigerians will never be as smart as we are and will never invent software products that can compete with what we produce in the USA.

d) Will never end because we never have depressions ever.

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9. The current ecological crisis

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a) Is likely to get worse. As the world economy grows, it expands into more and more space destroying more and more natural resources.

b) Is going to resolve itself naturally. Scientists will find solutions to everything and we will clean the whole mess up.

c) Is a media myth. Societies never die from ecological causes.

d) Is a mix. We can fix some things. Other things are harder to address. Fortunately, we can count on lots of global cooperation to help resolve our global problems.

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10. Positive minded individuals

a) Can make a difference in the world. They were able to get slavery abolished, obtain equal rights for women and rescue potential victims of ethnic persecution.

b) Have no effect on the world. Everything is money and power.

c) Have no effect on the world. People are just awful.

d) Have no effect on the world. People never respond favorably to a message of hope.

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The results of the quiz will not be published on this website.

If you live a life where your society gets better and better, where the economy grows, where people are physically secure, and where science and technology improve, then look at the features your society has. Those are the right answers for the quiz.

If you live a life where your society falls apart, where the economy is stagnant or declining, where people are in constant danger and science and technology are becoming lost arts, then look at the features your society has. Those are the wrong answers for the quiz.

It doesn’t matter what answers I publish here.

It is what keeps society alive that matters.