Ideologies In The Cold War
The political feud between capitalism and communist regimes came to a head during hostile period of The Cold War (1947 - 1991). Ideological conflicts directly fuelled many of the key events of The Cold War, including the berlin blockade. The different political ideologies became the underlying motive driving the post WWII political and military hostilities with propaganda often being used to demonstrate the strong underlying corrections. America and Russia were the fronting nations in the ideological battle. The strong assertion of their ideological supremacy and an increasing threat of the spread of the opposing ideology, developed the capitalist vs. communist rivalry into the ulterior motive behind the political actions of the Cold War.
…show more content…
America’s capitalism, a social structure built upon personal ownership and ‘means of production’, directly opposed the Soviets’ communist dreams of a classless society (J. Scott, 1989). The influence of ideological rivalries can be seen in each governments attempts to manipulate world events to positively reflect the superiority of their own social system. Russia, under Stalin’s leadership, experienced an increase in nationalism and communist pride as Stalin perceived the end of WWII as a communist victory over capitalism. His 1945 speech reflects this belief: “Victory means, first of all, that our soviet social system has won... [and] has proved to be … a better form of society than any non-Soviet social system”( J. Stalin, 1945). At the same time, the US also tried to convince the American public of capitalist superiority, crediting high living standards and economic prosperity to the capitalist regime. 1959 propaganda pamphlets read “Capitalism … our children’s heritage”(Leab, 2013), attempting to associate capitalist superiority with the strong American patriotism and economy. The image showing the well-dressed American family enjoying providing their children with the luxury of leisurely sport and toys reflects a very comfortable living standard and
America’s capitalism, a social structure built upon personal ownership and ‘means of production’, directly opposed the Soviets’ communist dreams of a classless society (J. Scott, 1989). The influence of ideological rivalries can be seen in each governments attempts to manipulate world events to positively reflect the superiority of their own social system. Russia, under Stalin’s leadership, experienced an increase in nationalism and communist pride as Stalin perceived the end of WWII as a communist victory over capitalism. His 1945 speech reflects this belief: “Victory means, first of all, that our soviet social system has won... [and] has proved to be … a better form of society than any non-Soviet social system”( J. Stalin, 1945). At the same time, the US also tried to convince the American public of capitalist superiority, crediting high living standards and economic prosperity to the capitalist regime. 1959 propaganda pamphlets read “Capitalism … our children’s heritage”(Leab, 2013), attempting to associate capitalist superiority with the strong American patriotism and economy. The image showing the well-dressed American family enjoying providing their children with the luxury of leisurely sport and toys reflects a very comfortable living standard and