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Unit 1: Different ideologies

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1. Setting the scene

During WW2 the US & USSR set their differences aside for
the common fight against Nazi Germany.

After WWII, the 2 superpowers - U.S. & USSR - soon

viewed each other with increasing suspicion

Their political & ideological differences created a climate of

icy tension that plunged the two countries into an era of
bitter rivalry known as the Cold War

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2. Definition: Cold War

A Cold War is defined as a situation of tense political,

economical and military relations and fierce
competition between nations – not a physical war but
rather an ideological war.
◦ A continuing state of resentful antagonism between two
parties short of open violence
◦ Never a direct military engagement between the US &
USSR, but rivalry between the 2 superpowers led to many
indirect (proxy) wars.
◦ Term to describe shifting struggle for power and prestige
between the Western powers (USA) and the Communist
bloc (USSR) from the end of World War 2 until 1991
(dissolvent of the USSR)
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3.Three main reasons for Cold War

1. Competing ideologies
◦ An ideology refers to a set of ideas about how a
society should be run.

2. Wartime alliances broke down

3. Feelings of mistrust

Will be discussed in detail as we go along

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4. Competing ideologies

USA (United States of America) = Capitalist

/ Democracy

USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)

= Communist
◦ Many other countries became communist after
WW2:
Czechoslovakia (1948); China (1949); Cuba (1959);
North Korea (1945)

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5. Capitalism vs. Communism

CAPITALISM COMMUNISM
Who controls the society?
• People choose their • The Communist Party
government by voting for rules the people.
the leaders they want.
• Only the Communist Party
• Believed in democratic members can be in the
forms of government government.

• The leaders can belong to • This government is

any party. considered a one-party
dictatorship.

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CAPITALISM COMMUNISM
How should people live?
• The individual has • The community is
more rights and more important than
some of these rights the individual.
are more important
than the needs of the • So the individual
community. should put the needs
• Such rights of the community
include freedom before his own.
of speech and the
press.
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CAPITALISM COMMUNISM
How should the wealth of the society be
created and shared?

• Country’s wealth is created by private • The country’s wealth is owned

enterprise and trade.
• Businessmen & entrepreneurs create
wealth by deciding what to produce.
• Profit driven – prices determined by
free market forces
• Called market economy.
• Some individuals may become wealthier
than others.
• How wealthy one becomes depends on
the individual’s skills or how well he
invests his resources.
• Private ownership of capital & property
collectively by the society.
• Communist Party creates
wealth by deciding what to
produce.
• Government sets prices
• Called a centrally planned
economy.
• Everyone should work and
should get an equal share of the
benefits of the society.
• Government owns all capital &
property
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6. How did the USA & USSR differ?

USA USSR
Believed in democratic forms Believed in a communistic
of government form of government

Believed economic stability Control of countries

would keep peace in the between USSR & Germany as
world a buffer from the West

Believed the free enterprise Economic & social activities

system was necessary for controlled by a State
economic growth dominated by a single
political party

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7. Last thought…
Direct military conflict did not occur between the two
superpowers, mainly because of mutual fear of nuclear
warfare, and national insecurity.
But instead, intense diplomatic struggles erupted. Different
interests led to mutual suspicion and hostility.

“It was a period of conflict, tension and competition between the USA &
USSR and their allies from the mid 1940s until the early 1990s.
Throughout this period, the rivalry between the two superpowers was
played out in multiple arenas: military coalitions; ideology, psychology, and
espionage; military, industrial & technological developments, including
the space race; costly defence spending; a massive conventional and
nuclear arms race; and many proxy wars.”

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