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  • Essay / The geography of the Cold War: why the United States embarked on a policy of containment

    Post-World War II tensions were already high due to the Cold War and the presence of two world superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. Union, the main conflict between the two sides was that both sides were trying to gain massive support and influence in order to help them control the world. the soviet union was known as the communists, "communism is a philosophical, social, political and economic ideology and movement whose ultimate goal is the establishment of a communist society, i.e. a structured socio-economic order on the ideas of common ownership of the means of production and the absence of social classes, money and the State”. While the United States was known to be capitalist, “capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their exploitation for profit. The central features of capitalism include private ownership and recognition of property rights, capital accumulation, wage labor, voluntary exchange, a price system, and competitive markets. This distinguishes the differences between the two opposing superpowers, neither of which desires the expansion of the other's ideology. The United States was frightened by the idea of ​​thus implementing the policy of containment, which was the process of preventing the spread of the ideology of a hostile power. George Kennan was the man who proposed this approach due to the growing Soviet influence hovering around the eastern borders. The doctrine was created in 1946/47 after World War II, during the term of President Truman. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe United States was committed to democracy and self-determination, or the right of citizens to determine their own form of government . They would not return to their isolationism after World War II, they believed that communism was too totalitarian and that "the structure of Soviet government prevented an objective or accurate picture of internal and external reality", and did not let people choose their government. Additionally, the United States is a capitalist country, so its prosperity depends on people buying its products all over the world. In communist countries, there is no private property, which prevents people from purchasing products. The more communism spreads, the fewer people there are to buy products, thereby undermining capitalism. According to George Kennan, he believed that the Soviets saw themselves at war with capitalism and would use controllable Marxists in a capitalist world and even stated: "In summary, we have here [in the Soviet Union] a political force fanatically committed to the belief that With the United States, there cannot be a permanent modus vivendi according to which it would be desirable and necessary for the internal harmony of our society to be disrupted, for our traditional way of life to be destroyed, for the international authority of our State must be broken if Soviet power is to be ensured. This political force has total control over the energies of one of the greatest peoples in the world and over the resources of the richest national territory in the world and is carried by the deep and powerful currents of Russian nationalism. This is a clear depiction of the ongoing tension between two superpowers intent on ruining the other. It is therefore clear that the fear of the spread of a communist ideology was the reason why it was necessary to actin advance to prevent this before it causes problems. was seen supporting and creating alliances, so clearly portraying the fear of communism was the sole purpose of introducing the containment policy. An important starting point was the Greek Civil War which began in 1946, which was a conflict between conservative and communist parties. led to Greece receiving support from the United States in order to prevent communist influence in the region, with Greece seen as a significant threat if it fell to communism. Westerners feared this true strategic value of Greece around the Mediterranean. This led Truman in March 1947 to ask Congress for money to help aid those countries under communist threat like Greece and Turkey that would prove strategically valuable to the United States. This consisted of asking for up to $400 million to help these countries. In turn, this led to the result of the Truman Doctrine, to extend the containment of the spread of communist ideology, meaning that the United States assumed international responsibility as leaders of the Western world. This doctrine helped Greece and led it to be under his wing and receive support from the conservative government. For the United States, it was a plan that was carried out precisely in the hope of demolishing its opposition. The idea of ​​helping European nations economically, which was introduced in 1947, helped keep Greece and Turkey from falling into communist hands, but it moved from short-term aid to a plan for support and longer-term reconstruction to defeat the opposition presented as communist. This was not intended to be part of the original containment plan, but it became a crucial step as indirect Soviet influence and actions became increasingly evident, thus leading to the need for additional actions. This additional action was known as the Marshall Plan, which was considered a long-term strategic plan that led to financial support for European countries that had suffered from the significant impact of World War II. The weekend countries needed to be rebuilt so that they could return to a capitalist market and avoid communist revolutions. This was a success because the Western democratic countries had accepted this aid in order to accelerate the process of rebuilding the economy and, in turn, they were the ones who recovered satisfactorily and steadily, while those who did not did not tend to decline economically after the war. As a result, the affected Western European countries had higher rates and levels of productivity, benefited from fewer trade barriers, and were able to distribute and use resources more efficiently. Overall, the Marshal Plan cost the United States approximately $13 billion over four years, clearly illustrating the desperation with which the United States strove to prevent the spread of enemy communism during 1946. -1947. The states' tactics of containing the Soviets clashed with Marshall's aid in several ways. On the one hand, it prohibited those in the Eastern Bloc who were considered allies of the Soviet Union from being able to seek Marshall's help in order to hold their ground and continue the spread of communism. In addition to this, they worked to provide support to those in need of economic support and guidance, otherwise known as COMECON. The Soviets retaliated by not letting the United States drive them out and attempted to build their own eastern economy and create a network.