Essay on Examining the Possible Causes of the Cold War

The causes of the Cold War and how it developed into one of the largest unarmed struggles in history have been subject to much debate and consequently a number of schools of thought have developed as to the origins of the Cold War. These proposed explanations to the causes of the Cold War have consisted of the orthodox, revisionist and post-revisionist theories. Each theory demonstrates a different viewpoint as to how a variety of political, economic and militaristic factors instigated the Cold War The Cold War was the political, social, economic and militaristic struggle between communism and capitalist participated in primarily by the communist Soviet Union and the capitalist USA and their respective allies from approximately 1947†¦show more content†¦This expansionism developed between 1945 and 1953. The Soviet Union installed communist governments in many of the nations that had been controlled by Germany during the war including East Germany and Poland, and in 1947 attempted to install a communist government in Greece, while from 1950-1953 was funding communist North Korea in their war to integrate the south into a united communist state. In light of these aggressive and expansionist policies, the USA could not allow the USSR to disrupt the geopolitical balance of the world and was forced to intervene against the Soviet Union, which is where, according to the orthodox theory where one of the major causes of the Cold War lies. Lenin illustrated the incompatibility of the Soviets and the US’s respective ideologies when he wrote-â€Å"†¦as long as capitalism and socialism exist we cannot live in peace; in the end one or the other will triumph†¦.† The USA was capitalist while the Soviet Union was communist and each state had a strong belief in the superiority of it own ideology. Stalin’s paranoia led to the Soviet Union believing that capitalism was determined to destroy the USSR and communism. The Orthodox theory states that this clash of ideologies brewed mistrust and hostility between the superpowers and contributed in part, to the Cold War The Revisionist Explanation holds the view that the cause of the Cold War can be attributed to US expansionism, both economically and militaristically. TheShow MoreRelatedAnti-Communism in America867 Words   |  4 Pagesideologies and its possible spread in the world. As a result, the ideological war period known as the â€Å"Cold War† was developed. With the end of World War II, the USA emerged with a renewed sense of confidence as they believed that their role in the Allie alliance was a key factor when defeating their enemy powers. It was not long, however, before ironically, this alliance between USA and USSR would be the cause for rising tensions in the world. 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