Free Social Change and Development MCQs with Answers

• A. resource mobilization theory
• B. labor movement
• C. environmental movement
• D. anti-nuclear movement

Explanation: The labour movement is a classic or ‘old’ social movement rooted mainly in class and workplace organisation. Environmental and anti-nuclear movements are examples of newer movements focused on post-material or quality-of-life issues.

• A. Adolf Hitler
• B. Winston Churchill
• C. Charles De Gaulle
• D. Harry S Truman

Explanation: Winston Churchill called for a ‘United States of Europe’ in his 1946 Zurich speech, helping to inspire European integration. The other listed leaders did not make this original public call.

• A. USA
• B. Mozambique
• C. Canada
• D. Sweden

Explanation: Sweden has a lower infant mortality rate than the United States, Canada, and Mozambique, reflecting strong maternal and child healthcare systems. Infant mortality is measured by infant deaths per 1,000 live births.

• A. Japan
• B. USA
• C. Gambia
• D. unknown

Explanation: Japan has the highest life expectancy at birth among the listed countries, whereas the United States is lower and Gambia is substantially lower. “Unknown” is not a country and therefore cannot be the answer.

• A. risks which result from human interaction with the natural world
• B. risks associated with the activities of manufacturing industries
• C. risks that have been exaggerated by the output of the media
• D. risks that only affect advanced industrial economies

Explanation: Manufactured risks are hazards created by human social and technological activity, especially modern efforts to control or transform nature. They are not limited to manufacturing industries or advanced economies, so option b is too narrow.

• A. falls in agricultural yields
• B. the spread of disease
• C. the use of unclear energy
• D. a rise in sea levels

Explanation: Global warming is associated with lower agricultural yields, disease spread and rising sea levels. The use of nuclear energy is not itself a consequence of global warming, making option c the exception.

• A. social constructionism reminds us that all environmental issues have an important social aspect and context
• B. social constructionism remains agnostic about the scientific reality of environmental issues
• C. social constructionism tells us more about social interactions than the relationship between society and the environment
• D. social constructionism applies standard which demand new theorizing and approaches

Explanation: Critical realists may criticise constructionism for neglecting scientific reality or focusing too heavily on social interactions, but recognising the social context of environmental issues is a strength rather than a criticism. Therefore, option a is not a criticism.

• A. more resource to be directed towards economic growth
• B. more resources to be put into Third World development
• C. growth that minimizes resource depletion and pollution
• D. fewer resources to be directed towards economic growth

Explanation: Sustainable development does not reject growth; it seeks economic and social progress while reducing resource depletion and pollution. This balance distinguishes it from both unrestricted growth and opposition to growth, so c is correct.

• A. development that protects the environment for future generations even at the expense of the present generation
• B. development which meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
• C. a type of development which put the interests of developing countries ahead of the interests of the rich nations
• D. development that is capable of maintaining sustainable economic growth for all countries of the worldPeople & Society

Explanation: The Brundtland Commission defined sustainable development through intergenerational equity: meeting present needs without reducing future generations’ ability to meet theirs. This is the standard 1987 definition, expressed in option b.

• A. the genes used cannot spread into the wider environment
• B. they involve transplanting genes from one organism to another
• C. we can say with certainty that they are risk-free
• D. they have been accepted by consumers in all countries

Explanation: Genetic modification directly alters an organism by transferring or inserting selected genetic material, sometimes from a different species. Earlier breeding methods generally combined existing traits through reproduction rather than directly transplanting genes, so b is correct.