Communism During The Cold War

The Cold War was a rivalry between two international super powers with opposing views: The Capitalist United States and The Communist USSR. These two super powers often butt head with each other on many subjects such as: economy, policy, and ideologies. Although they were allies in the fight against Hitler’s Germany, both superpowers similarly saw the other as a threat. Both superpowers knew that a direct fight to settle the score could risk another war. Therefore they indulged in a war of attrition, and fought through their dependent powers and in international fora, with a view to increasing their sphere of influence. The National Security Council Report 68 from The United States stated the competitiveness of The USSR. On the other
The American’s are democrats who highly views freedom as an imperative part of society. “For the free society does not fear, it welcomes, diversity. It derived its strength from its hospitality even to antipathetic ideas. It is a market for free trade ideas, secure in its faith that free men will take the best wares, and grow to a fuller and better realization of their powers in exercising their choice.” In the American’s perspective they believe that communism is monolithic. I believe that the American’s felt this way because it was founded upon Christianity and rights and freedoms. If communism were to spread out throughout Europe then there would be no individual rights and freedoms, everything would be controlled and rationed equally through the government. However, in Stalin’s remark he views American’s and its vassals are merely exploiting their resources and in due time are bound to have a decline in their economy. “ It follows from this that the sphere of exploitation of the world’s resources by the major capitalist countries will not expand but contract; that their opportunities for sale in the world market will deteriorate, and their industries will be operating more and more below capacity.” Additionally, there has also been a number or policies that were created in this period to counteract one another from the opposing sides, the Americans and the Soviets. These policies and acts include: The Marshall Plan made by the Americans, which the Soviets counteract with Comecon. In the end The Marshall Plan was more successful than the Soviets Comecon. In final consideration I believe the Soviets were afraid of being attacked again. Therefore the soviets wanted to create a strong border with their neighboring countries by the sharing the same ideologies as them and converting their neighbors into