Capitalism, socialism and communism as ideas of the industrial age, and what happened where they were tried

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D, all summaries in our words, written today. Card A (the Soviet plan): Stalin's First Five-Year Plan, adopted in 1928, called for rapid industrialization with an emphasis on heavy industry and for large state collective farms. The party elite set the state's goals in isolation from the people. Strict centralization led to economic decline and inefficiency in the 1970s and 1980s. The Soviet system ended after August 1991. Card B (the Soviet countryside): About one million kulak households, some five million people, were deported. Forced collectivization caused a catastrophic famine in 1932 and 1933 across Ukraine, the northern Caucasus and the lower Volga. One Library of Congress source estimates the toll in Ukraine at six to seven million; a Law Library of Congress report says about five million Ukrainians lost their lives. By 1940 about 97 percent of peasant households were collectivized. Card C (Mondragón): The Mondragon Cooperative Corporation began in 1956 in Mondragón, in Spain's Basque Country. A 2005 business-school article reports more than 100 independent cooperatives employing more than 70,000 people, with one vote for each worker. A philosophy encyclopedia, describing the corporation as often called the world's largest cooperative, says it had over 70,000 worker-owners as of 2015. Card D (Britain): The Factory Act of 1833 banned factory work under nine, set a 48-hour week for ages 9 to 13 and a 12-hour day for ages 13 to 18, and required two hours of school a day for children under 13. Four inspectors were named for 4,000 mills, so the Act was widely evaded. Parliament outlawed unions in the 1790s; in 1834 six farm workers from Tolpuddle were sentenced to seven years' transportation for forming a friendly society, and were later pardoned. Unions were recognized in law in 1871.

2. 1.

   Card B gives about five million Ukrainian deaths from one source and six to seven million from another. Bo asks how to treat the difference.

   • Use six to seven million, since the later source corrected the earlier one
   • Average them to about 5.75 million, the fair midpoint of the two
   • Report both as estimates and ask what each counts, such as years and area
   • Use five million, since a legal report is more exact than an exhibit
3. 2.

   Card C gives 70,000 people in 2005 from a business-school article and 70,000 worker-owners as of 2015 from an encyclopedia. Esme asks what that suggests.

   • They may count employees and owners, in different years; check before comparing
   • Mondragón did not grow in ten years, since both sources give 70,000
   • Both are exact figures, since two independent sources agree on the same 70,000
   • The 2005 figure counts just owners, since card C gives one vote for each worker
4. 3.

   A student says the Soviet plan's goals explain its results. What do cards A and B add, Jun asks?

   • Collectivization alone caused the decline of the 1970s and 1980s in the economy
   • The plan's costs fell on mill owners, as they did in the Manchester mills of card D
   • Industrialization came with deportations, forced collectivization and famine
   • The plan succeeded, since 97 percent of households were collectivized by 1940
5. 4.

   Card D says the 1833 Act set limits but named four inspectors for 4,000 mills. Kira asks how far the Act protected children.

   • Well, since four inspectors named at the start is enough for a first law
   • Hardly any, since later laws were still needed to ban child labor outright
   • Fully, since the Act banned factory work under nine and required schooling
   • Less than the rules suggest; one inspector for 1,000 mills made evasion easy
6. 5.

   Card A says strict centralization led to economic decline in the 1970s and 1980s. Luz asks which claim the card supports.

   • The decline began in 1991, when the system ended, as the card's dates show
   • Centralization alone ended the system in 1991, as the card's last line shows
   • The decline came from the kulak deportations of the 1930s and their famine
   • Centralization is named as a cause of decline, not of the system's end
7. 6.

   Milo compares the Soviet plan (card A) with the 1833 Act (card D). How do they differ?

   • Both replaced private owners, one with a state plan and one with a body of inspectors
   • They differ mainly in date, 95 years apart, so the dates explain the difference
   • The 1833 Act planned the economy, while the Soviet plan limited hours for children
   • The Soviet state owned and planned; the 1833 Act limited owners who stayed in charge
8. 7.

   Noah compares Mondragón's one vote for each worker (card C) with the unions on card D. What is the difference?

   • Mondragón gave each worker a vote; unions were not recognized in law until 1871
   • British mill workers had one vote each in the mills, as at Mondragón
   • They are the same system, since both sold goods in markets to pay their workers
   • Mondragón's votes came from the recognition of unions in 1871, since it followed it
9. 8.

   Britain moved from limiting mill work in 1833 to recognizing unions in 1871. Ren asks what stayed the same.

   • Private owners still ran the mills; what changed was the limits on them
   • Nothing changed in 38 years, since the 1833 Act was widely evaded by owners
   • Workers took over the mills by 1871, since unions were recognized in law
   • Owners lost control in 1833, since the Act set limits on them and sent inspectors
10. 9.

    Card A's plan began in 1928, and the decline came in the 1970s and 1980s. Tala asks what that span shows.

    • The system declined at once after 1928, since heavy industry came first
    • The decline of the 1970s shows the plan of 1928 was flawed from its first year
    • Over 40 years passed before decline, so early gains and later decline can both hold
    • The plan failed from the start, since the system ended in 1991 and had declined
11. 10.

    Card C says Mondragón began in 1956 and had 70,000 people in 2005 and 70,000 worker-owners in 2015. Zee asks what the figures show about growth.

    • It grew most after 2005, since the 2015 source is newer than the first
    • No growth in ten years, since both figures are 70,000 people
    • That it was large by 2005, but not whether it grew between 2005 and 2015
    • It grew steadily from 1956 to 2005, as the figure of 70,000 in 2005 shows