| The Roots of the Cold War i ‘A CONFLICT OF IDEOLOGY Hl Unlike conventional wars, the Cold War did not follow a declaration of war or a sudden act of aggression. ‘The Cold ‘War brought about its changes slowly, until, by 1950, it | dominated international politics Its roots lay deep in the past. | __ The Gold War was essentially « confict between two | ideologies and their respective systems of government. Liberal Y tai Mancte Genin democracy, an ideology embraced by the United States, iosoper who rts Britain, and other Western countries, advocates rule by elected the wert core ef representatives and holds that a government might broadly Ccontinvilenesdein regulate a capitalist, or free market, econorsy but should not Bila tecnde of tre otherwise attempt to eontro it, Communism, as embraced by capes sate ‘the Soviets al later by China, is an ideology tha advocates uchoritarian rule by a singe party and holds that @ government should own all businesses and ‘control the economy. KARL MARX ‘Modern communism is the brainchild ‘of the German philosopher Karl Manx (1818-1885). Marx believed that history, lke science, operates by knowable laws. According to these Jaws, a society moves Uhrough three stages of development: feudalism, capitalism, and finally communism. Economic change, Marx believed, was the engine that would move a society ‘Sarough these stages. ‘Marx angued thatthe capitalist, free~ market way of life was doomed. A society's available wealth would find its way into the 1 hands of fewer and fewer business owners, or | 8 “capitalists,” who would try to gain profs by paying les wages to the working class, oF “proletariat.” Eventually, Marx argued, the proletariat would grow tired of being texplited. ‘They would overthrow the capitalists and establish a caslss society in which there was no private property and everyone was treated equally. REVOLUTION Mars believed that a temporary government, which be called the “dictatorship of the proletariat,” would be needed afer the fall of eapitalisn. Tis goverament wou be Bed by a band of communists dedicated to ‘weeding out the ast remnants of capitalism and clas-based thinking ‘Marx's theories were fist, pot to dhe text tina major indus country, such asthe “United States or Beta, but in Rusia, a largely agricultural and oldfashioned empire The Bolsheviks, a group of communist led by Vladimir Lenin, seed powerin Rusia in 1917. Afer defeating all their opponents in a bloody, isl war (1918-1923), they proceeded to extablsh the wore fist communis tat. The cw of rave ew wot A Sone poppe pang rong Lain th Se) ami ed of eee warts in 1917, BommVadmir eh Upon Lerin was fest epi by he works ofr Mare at the age of nnmteen Lenin mest Important cartrbaion to Manis shout wa is bef tat a scety such a Ris coud pass fom feuds to commis withoxt ong through the capt sage (of devsoprant Aer seing power in te Rusa revoltion of (317 he tempt to put hisides ito practice Te reat was the Soviet Unions communis syste of goverment which ated for ver seventy yearsDICTATORSHIP One of communism’ chief weakneses appeared the moment Lenin seized power: hhow were the new leaders to be kept in check? Lenin genuinely wished to help ordinary Russians by giving them decent wages, education, and health care, but many of his followers were more interested in | a.caty ornot A Soet comeitn eae "DE | pete dirt for te Comris Pary 1933.87 199% hows of poe been wate ores |) olan ibe canos ‘advancing their own careers, In addition, Lenin's belief in the righteousness of his cause led him to establish a one-party state in which no apposition was tolerated. ‘Any hope that the new Soviet Union righ develop into a communist utopia was ended in 1928, when Joseph Stalin eame to power, A ruthless and paranoid dictator, Stalin ruled the Soviet Union through the Communist Party until his death in 1953. Uni 1941, be enforced five-year modernization plans for Soviet industry. At the same time, he sanctioned the slaughter of millions of {innocent peasants and purged the party, the government, and the armed forces of anyone he suspected of opposing him. The fall extent of his crimes did not come to light until after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. RUSSIA AND THE WEST In 1917, the Bolsheviks overthrew a provisional government that endorsed the principles of liberal democracy. This act ‘tured Western governments against the Bolsheviks from the start, During the Russian Civil War that followed, Britain and several other Westem governments sent troops to suppor the “White” opponents of the “Red” communists, ‘Western-style democracies remained suspicious ofthe one party Bolshevik state dhroughout the 1920s and 1930s, and the Soviets increased this suspicion by supporting revolutionary communist parties in other countries. The United States did ‘ot formally recognize the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) uns! 1983, eleven years ater its formation 10 UNLIKELY ALLIES Hostility between the Soviee Union and Western governments continued until ‘World War Tl At that ime, the hostility a not so much end as coo! off, because of the practical necessity of defeating a common enemy: Nazi Germany. ‘in August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union shocked Wester leaders by signing a non-aggression pact. Hitler had bitterly opposed communism, but by signing this pact he did not have to worry about the Soviets and could concentrate ‘on attacking Western Europe. After Nezi victories in France and the Low Countries in June 1941, however, Hitler launched ‘a massive asault on the Soviet Union. Fot the next four years, the Soviets and the Wester liberal democracies had ‘no choice but to fight together. aa, Stain ned the Boke party one before the 1917 revolrion Aer Lanirs lest in 1924, ae his postion a party secretary 10 lca and emia ire ‘As head ofthe Soviet stats, he modi ‘he courtry and led itto weary over the Nadi He did sohowever athe cos of rion of hes Moder Russa st bears the sas of his tatorshi which was anguniy the meet bn of moder te. V The pac tht hosed the wer ot te ‘erg ars ps Naz So Pa 2 ag 939|v secre power es of Fars erm roa forre an rn cal he Beach LIBERAL DEMOCRACY ‘The roots of liberal democracy stretch back to the English Revolution in the seventeenth century. Ater this evolution, Engiand’s representative parliament, rather than the country’s monarch, became the key component of the English political system. In the next century, the English Revolution and new ideas about government inspired revolutions in the American colonies and in France. These two upheavals further developed the principles of liberal democracy. Tn a modem liberal democracy, no individual, group, oF institution has supreme power. If there isa monarch — a3 sail the case in Britain — he or she has no authority. Uimate [power lis in the hands of the people, who elect their leaders ‘The elected government makes laws that apply all citizens alike, including members ofthe government. Different political parties each offer their own ideas on the best way to gover, [Al indiviiuals are five to express their own opinions, even if they disagree with the governments actions BY THE PEOPLE OR FOR THE PEOPLE? Soviet leaders claimed to believe in democracy, which was described by USS. president Abraham Lincoln as “government ‘of the people, by the people, for the people.” Western democracies, however, emphasized govermment by the people, ‘whereas the Soviets sought goverment for the people “These two interpretations each had important ramifications for the way people lived. In most Western democracies there ‘yas an emphasis on individual freedom and choice, but there was ako a wide gap between the rich and the poor. Tn the Soviet Union, on the other hand, income levels were roughly the same for everyone, if mostly lower than in the West, and there was no ‘unetnployment. Soviet leaders, however panned all criticism of the goverment, because such criticism was considered ‘backward-ooking and antisocial, CAPITALISM VS. COMMUNISM Jn the Soviet Union, the state owned all wealth, and a central bureaucracy set wages, rents, and prices. This system iminated most povery,butitalso stifled initiative. Mose Russians saw no point in Ihara workif the sate was the beneficiary, ppariculary if, as so many believed, the 1 7 copes tote nations Canton ha bn Phindhia Pmwfana sen “he ay eras Coneton Th doaent proved a Freedom ofspeech isa key prt of mest Wes Sovict government was corrupt. ‘The United States and other Western democracies followed a capitalist, or “eve enterprise,” system, in which competition fn an open market decides prices and ‘ages, and government only regulates ‘he market to a slight degree. In thi Bc an invidunt weah epend on ent and cieumstance as well as onal efor. erocracies Thi recom was grartead tothe ‘Arercan peopl inthe fst arecirrt tthe CConstiton edi 1751: "Canges shal mek no aw respecting an esoehent of rgin or prohibiting the Fee creo tof or brig he Fesiom of peach or ofthe pressor ofthe ig of te pele peace, 12 esamble ond pein the goverent oro rocks of evraTHE ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY Jn 1941, when the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, Britain was the only major Wester democracy waging war against fascism "The fscst nations Germany and Tealy had overwhelmed most of Europe, ‘except for neutral Sweden, Switzerland, and Spain, The United States was aso technically a neutral country, but since 1940 it had supported Britain with a “ridge of ships” across the Atlantic: US. president Franklin D. Roosevelt ‘wanted the United States t0 be the “arsenal of democracy.” With the Lend- (COP and the US--backed Guomindang, for Kuomintang (KM). When war broke out between China and Japan in 1937, the CCP and the KMT formed the Chinese United Front to fight together against Japanese invaders, The Japanese atack on Peas] Harbor brought, ‘he United States into alliance with the comaunist Chinese United Front. By the fll of 1943, the Soviet Red Army was coving the Nazis out of Rusia, the Alles had cleared Axis forces from, [North Africa and had invaded Tay, and the Japanese were retreating in the Born it a weathy NewYork ih Roose ‘rained a nwyer before ertarng pots. He sade a name fr hime a 2 reforming Democrat and was elected president ofthe United States in 1932.onthe promise that he would combat he Depresion Mary of hi messes were sucess an bis rac “reside chat" to the nation brought tim mens popularity He was resected in 1936, apn in 1940, nd yt agin 1944 — tes to his sis leader bath peace ane war Pacific. With eventual victory now likely, the Soviet Union and the Westem democracies tured their attention to the shape ofthe postwar world. Not surprisingly, their respective visions Lease Act of 1941, Congress empowered him to provide equipment and supplies 0 any nation whose defense was thought 1 tin grr ine be tate of Alar in Ent inthe of 192 Alle ry ‘A gone drt deat US waa in eat Hebor on Deseo 161 The sie tan an sles. recessary for American security. After [Japan's attack on the US. naval base at Peas Harbor on December 7, 1941, and Germany's subsequent declaration of war on the United States, the Soviet Union became a US. ally, By 1945 the United States had provided roughly $11 billion in lend-ease aid to the Soviet Union, Military neces had forced the United States to become the ‘arsenal of communism as well as of liberal democracy. [AMERICA’S PROBLEM By early 1942, the United States was ina dificult postion. Tt was at war with the Axis powers of Germany, Ialy, and Japan, ‘whieh, by the Anti-Comintem Pacts of 1986 and 1937, bad declared their deep hetilty to communism. As the world’ ‘most powerful liberal democracy, the United States was also bitterly opposed to communism. Yet itwas now allied with the ‘world’s leading communist state, the Soviet Union, "This situation was further complicated by events in China. From the mid-1920s to the mid-1980s, China had been ravaged by a cil war berween the Chinese Communist Party “u were very diferent of eisai toc