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Social Studies 9

Social Studies 9 · Worksheets

Consumerism, quality of life and politics

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering Consumerism and politics. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

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Consumerism, quality of life and politics

Social Studies 9 · maddyhelps.com

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Circle the best answer for each question. Use the space to note the reasoning or the source detail that decided it.

  1. An ad for an invented phone company: "Over a million Canadians have already switched to us. Don't be the last one." Which marketing technique does this ad use?

    1. a) Bandwagon
    2. b) Testimonial
    3. c) Plain folks
    4. d) Glittering generalities

  2. A contractor tells a homeowner: "I'll paint your whole house for $2000 cash. No receipt, no tax." If a lot of work in a community is done this way, what is the most likely effect on quality of life there?

    1. a) Less tax money for schools, roads and health care
    2. b) Higher official employment figures for the region
    3. c) Lower prices for every good sold in the economy
    4. d) Stronger consumer protection for local buyers

  3. A universal social program is one that

    1. a) is paid only to people with the lowest incomes
    2. b) is run by private companies for a profit
    3. c) is paid for only by the people who use it
    4. d) is open to everyone, whatever their income

  4. A line from an invented party's platform: "We will cut income taxes, reduce regulations on business and shrink the size of government." Where does this platform sit on the economic spectrum?

    1. a) On the right, favouring less government involvement
    2. b) In the centre, favouring equal public and private roles
    3. c) Nowhere, because a tax promise cannot be placed
    4. d) On the left, favouring more government involvement

  5. A cartoon shows a teenager sitting among piles of new phones, shoes and gadgets, looking miserable. A billboard behind him reads, "Buy more. Be happy." Which view does the cartoonist most likely hold?

    1. a) Advertising helps people find what makes them happy
    2. b) Buying more does not necessarily improve quality of life
    3. c) Teenagers should be banned from buying electronics
    4. d) The economy grows only when teenagers spend money

  6. A news report: "After thousands of shoppers signed a pledge to stop buying its jeans, a clothing company agreed to allow safety inspections at its overseas factories." What does this source show?

    1. a) Safety inspections are required by law in every country
    2. b) Individual shoppers have no influence over big companies
    3. c) Consumers acting together can change how a business acts
    4. d) Governments must approve how clothing companies are run

  7. As an economic idea, consumerism is the belief that

    1. a) buying more goods and services is good for the economy
    2. b) people should make everything they need for themselves
    3. c) governments should decide what consumers may buy
    4. d) saving money is always wiser than spending it

  8. From an invented party's platform: "Every family deserves affordable child care, and we will pay for it by raising taxes on the largest corporations." Which value most clearly underlies this promise?

    1. a) Families should pay for services privately, as they choose
    2. b) Corporations should be free of taxes and regulation
    3. c) Families should rely on charities instead of government
    4. d) Government should use taxes to provide shared services

  9. A data summary: Country P has high income per person, a life expectancy of 62 years and low school enrolment. Country Q has lower income per person, a life expectancy of 80 years and high school enrolment. Which conclusion does this data best support?

    1. a) Country P has the better quality of life overall
    2. b) Country Q's economy must be growing faster than P's
    3. c) Income alone does not measure quality of life
    4. d) Life expectancy depends only on income per person

  10. Speaker 1: "When people spend, stores hire, factories run and families earn a living." Speaker 2: "Endless buying fills landfills and burns through resources our grandchildren will need." Which statement about the speakers is most accurate?

    1. a) Speaker 2 denies that spending creates any new jobs
    2. b) Speaker 1 says the environment does not matter
    3. c) Both think consumer spending should be cut back
    4. d) Speaker 1 stresses jobs; Speaker 2, the environment

Answer key · Consumerism, quality of life and politics

Social Studies 9 · maddyhelps.com

  1. a) Bandwagon — A bandwagon ad persuades by suggesting everyone else is already doing it, so you will be left out if you don't. A testimonial uses one person's endorsement; this ad relies on the size of the crowd.
  2. a) Less tax money for schools, roads and health care — Unreported cash work is part of the underground economy, so no tax is collected on it and public services have less to spend. The work never shows up in official figures, and buyers lose protection too, since there is no receipt if the job goes wrong.
  3. d) is open to everyone, whatever their income — Canada's public health insurance is universal: everyone is covered regardless of income. A program only for people below an income level is targeted, or means-tested, and choosing between the two reflects different values about fairness and cost.
  4. a) On the right, favouring less government involvement — Lower taxes, fewer regulations and smaller government sit on the right of the economic spectrum, toward the market end. A platform on the left would expand public services and make more use of taxes and regulation.
  5. b) Buying more does not necessarily improve quality of life — The point of the cartoon is the gap between the billboard's promise and the unhappy teen, so the cartoonist is questioning the idea that more things mean a better life. Taking the billboard's message as the cartoonist's own view is the classic misreading of irony.
  6. c) Consumers acting together can change how a business acts — One shopper's choice barely registers, but thousands acting together threatened the company's sales, which is consumer power used collectively. Nothing in the source says a government ordered the inspections.
  7. a) buying more goods and services is good for the economy — Consumer spending creates sales, jobs and tax revenue, which is why consumerism links buying to economic growth. The word is also used for the movement that protects consumers' rights, so read the context of any source that uses it.
  8. d) Government should use taxes to provide shared services — Paying for a public service through taxes reflects the view that government should share costs across society, a position toward the left. Critics answer that higher corporate taxes can cost jobs and investment, which is the other side of the same debate.
  9. c) Income alone does not measure quality of life — Q does better on health and education despite lower income, which is why measures such as the Human Development Index combine income, life expectancy and education. Nothing in the data shows how fast either economy is growing.
  10. d) Speaker 1 stresses jobs; Speaker 2, the environment — Each speaker picks one effect of consumerism: Speaker 1 its economic benefits, Speaker 2 its environmental cost. Neither mentions the other side, so claiming Speaker 2 denies the jobs or Speaker 1 dismisses the environment reads more into the sources than they say.