AIS 095B: Introduction to Global Studies

FALL 2008

Study Questions

Below are some study questions to assist you as you begin reading the Robbins textbook Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism.

 

What is 'consumption?'

What is a 'capitalist?' A 'laborer?' A 'consumer?'

According to Robbins, is the spread of capitalism inevitable? Why or why not?

According to Robbins, what are the central tenets of anthropology?

What is 'culture?'

How is Walt Disney World a 'sand painting?'

What 5 items interact in the economics of capitalism? How?

What is the 'surplus value of labor?'

Why is this important to understanding how capitalism works?Why do people play the game of capitalism, presuming that they are free to accept or reject its terms?

What does he mean by the 'black box of capitalism?'

How is the labor force controlled?

How does the story of Rumpelstilskin help us understand the position of labor in capitalism?

What factors led to the 'industrial revolution?'

How did capitalist relations of production expand throughout the globe in the last century, and what effect did this have on laborers in Europe?

What is a 'multinational corporation' and how did it come about?

What is the 'Global Debt Crisis' and what are its causes?

What kind of control does a nation-state have over its citizens, and why?

What is the prospect of the 'nation-state' in an age of massive migrations?

Why does Robbins ask 'Will corporations rule the world?'

What does that say about 'nation-states?'

What is an NGO, and why are these so important to the future of the world?

How does the story of sugar explain the relationship between environment and capitalism?

What was driving the increase in sugar consumption in Europe?

What is the 'hamburger connection?'

Is it possible to raise cattle in a 'sustainable' way?

What was the substance of the report that Lawrence Summers wrote on pollution, and why did he argue what he did?

 

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