POL 1102 Chapter 4: World Politics and Economics—The Cold War
26 Feb 2017
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Document Summary
In the aftermath of wwii, the world became divided into two camps: the us-led western democracies and the communist regimes, led by the soviet union. The conventional american view is that the ussr was primarily responsible for the cold war because without american containment policy, the soviets would have continued to expand in. The second interpretation of the origins of the cold war is that the us is to blame for the outbreak because it insisted on expanding its overseas export markets. A third explanation for the cold war claims that the difference in ideologies was the primary cause for the conflict. Capitalism is a system based on markets, competition, and individual choice. It requires trading partners, open world markets, and international stability. Its essence is the private ownership of the means of production and existence of a mobile labour force. Western democracy focuses on the protection of individual rights and freedom. Communism was perceived as monolithic, antidemocratic, and totalitarian.
