Cold War Ideology

Cold War Ideology and Policies

Good Student

HIS 135

November 27, 2011

Dr. James Downs

Cold War Ideology and Policies

During World War II, some of the alliances that were formed consisted of the United States, Britain and Russia; with the enemies being: Germany, Japan and Italy. After World War II, the Russian alliance halted and took on its own direction with the US and Britain remaining allies.

In order to defeat Hitler and the German agenda, the US and USSR banded together in a common purpose. However, once Germany was defeated; both countries looked to assume their dominant role in the aftermath. The problem was that both countries, at their very core, were diametrically opposed governments. The US government is a capitalistic economy, which is based on private ownership, private profit and free competition. It encourages individuals to own their own businesses and make profits. The USSR was a communist government, in which the economy is controlled by the government. The countries wealth and resources are owned by the government. The state plans economic activities so that all people benefit.

Because of these irreconcilable differences, animosity crept in as each country attempted to flex their muscles and expand their influence. Both countries actually benefitted from this point of view about each other. Because of their suspicions about one another, they increased their industrial output and enhanced the lives of their citizens. Unfortunately, these amped up outputs eventually entered the world of weapons and military strength. The Soviet Union was intent on spreading as much communism as possible and the United States tried to maintain democracies in Europe. Some of the tension was simply based on how to divide up the conquered Germany with Russia intent on keeping as much as possible.

During this time the USSR had been buffering itself from the US by forming friendly relations with neighboring countries, this was to become known as the “Iron...