Krishnasai Chalasani
Discuss the origins of the Cold War. What were the fundamental
differences between the Soviet Union and the United States. What role did
ideology play in the Cold War? Examine the contrasting ideologies of the
superpowers.
The Start of the cold war
The wartime alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union began to unravel even before the end of World War II. Although they were allies during the war, the United States and the Soviet Union had very different world views. One was democratic and capitalist, the other totalitarian and communist. Neither wanted the other to spread its influence beyond its borders, so even before the war ended, they were strategizing on how to contain each other, which lasted for nearly 50 years. Although the Marshall Plan helped restore Western Europe, other events of the late 1940s kept tension high: the Communist strike in Czechoslovakia and Soviet blockade of West Berlin in 1948, the fall of China and the Soviet Union in 1949. The Soviet support for the North Korean invasion of South Korea in 1950 confirmed the threat in Western eyes.
|
Differences between The soviet union and The United states
The United States, as a capitalist democracy, saw the world as a community of international trading partners, all with their own sovereignty. It gained power through commercial and industrial cooperation with developing countries. The Soviet Union, a Communist Party supporter, sought to extend its military and political control through socialist revolutions and dictatorships. By making other nations into subservients, the Soviet Union could maintain its economy despite the utter failure of collectivism.
|
The Role of Ideology
The Cold War is often depicted as a conflict between two competing ideologies: capitalism and communism. With the United States and the Soviet Union committed to the belief that their systems were superior to the other, the Cold War developed out of a desire to ensure the maliciousness of ideologies and was not inflicted on the people of Europe after World War II. The ideology of Marxism-Leninism was the basis of the whole Soviet State. The Soviet Union symbolised communism, involving an economic system of state ownership. Joseph Stalin's foreign policy was fortified in ideological terms and was committed to communism. On the United States, it is not dubious that Truman and all the presidents that followed him were convinced by the superiority of capitalism and the benefits to be gained. The United States stood for liberal democracy with its freedom of political expression, and capitalism with private ownership of the economy. Ultimately, the United States and the Soviet Union behaved like two imperialist powers attempting to secure supremacy in a large part of the world.