The Industrial Revolution in Nineteenth-Century Europe Brought About A

Reading Passage Question

The industrial revolution in nineteenth-century Europe brought about an explosion in productivity as the quantity of manufactured goods increased while costs plummeted. However, the incomes of the workers who produced the goods did not keep pace with the growing fortunes of the industrialists. It was in this context that Karl Marx conceived of the economic and political theory that would become known as communism. Marx argued that as productivity improved, existing social structures inevitably become inefficient, stifling further growth. Thus, the increasing divide between the owners and the workers would eventually necessitate a revolution. The twentieth century saw Marxist revolutions spread throughout the globe. Country after country watched peasants rise up against the ruling classes and impose governments based upon Marx’s ideas. The only problem was that while Marx saw communism as emerging from contradictions in capitalist countries, all of these emerging communist states had pre-industrial, feudal economies.

As the twentieth century drew to a close, these Marxist states either embraced capitalist principles, as Russia and China did, or devolved into totalitarian kleptocracies, as Cuba and North Korea did. Meanwhile, the industrialized countries in the West entered the twenty-first century with their capitalist economies intact. What happened? As explanation, Neo-Marxists offer the novel, if simplistic, concept of “false consciousness.” According to this theory, citizens of capitalistic states are unable to accurately assess their chances of upward mobility, and thus accept economic inequity as an unfortunate but “natural” transition phase between poverty and wealth. While this theory is most likely to accurately describe the mindset of many, it remains, as yet, entirely within the realm of conjecture.

“The industrial revolution in nineteenth-century Europe brought about a” - is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 3 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the explanation provided by the Neo-Marxists for why communist revolutions have not occurred in industrialized countries?

1. Many citizens of capitalistic countries believe that they eventually will become wealthy regardless of their current economic status.
2. Citizens of communist countries saw their standards of living decline following communist revolutions in their countries.
3. There are more wealthy people in capitalistic countries than there are in countries with other economic systems.
4. The standard of living in countries such as North Korea and Cuba was lower at the end of the twentieth century than it was in capitalist countries.
5. Citizens of capitalistic countries tend to have higher rates of literacy than do those of communist countries.

2. The passage suggests that the countries that actually had communist revolutions differed from the countries that Marx predicted would have communist revolutions in which of the following ways?

1. The countries that Marx predicted would have communist revolutions had larger economies than did those that actually had communist revolutions.
2. The countries that had communist revolutions were industrialized whereas Marx predicted that agricultural countries would have communist revolutions.
3. The countries that actually had communist revolutions tended to have economies dominated by sectors different from those predicted by Marx.
4. The countries that actually had communist revolutions had more inefficient social structures than did those predicted by Marx.
5. The countries that actually had communist revolutions did not suffer from the false consciousness predicted by Marx.

3. The author of the passage would most likely describe the concept of false consciousness as

1. compelling if impossible to substantiate
2. supported by history
3. inevitable but inefficient
4. creative but unproven
5. accurate but unfortunate

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