Marxism And The Cold War

The Cold War was riddled with international politics and political conflict. Beginning in 1945, the Cold War lasted for approximately 45 years and ended around 1990. During this conflict there were two main contenders; the United States and the Soviet Union. Even though there was no direct campaign between the two contenders, “billions of dollars and millions of lives were lost…” ("The Cold War Erupts", (n.d.)). The Cold War focused largely around the balance of power, globalization, social perception, and nationalism. For much of the war the United States was viewed as the leader, ahead of the Soviet Union in technology, economy, social satisfaction, and international political relations, but on October 5, 1957 that changed. October 5, 1957 is the day that the USSR sent the Sputnik satellite into orbit around Earth ((The Soviet Space Program). Nearly a month later the …show more content…
In this sense the war had a very liberal origin and basis. Liberalism, unlike realism, places emphasis on individual interests and an ability to differ from government leaders (internationalrelations.org). What this means is that “individuals within a society can have very different… goals compared to a state leader/leaders…” ("Liberalism", (n.d.)). The United States, along with multiple other countries, fought to reduce both the spread and influence of Communism and bring about Democracy, a political system which is inherently liberal. To clarify, liberalism is, as explained by Moravcsik, “foreign policy preferences of governments… directly influenced by the formal representative institutions that link state and society” ("Liberalism", (n.d.)) which includes “political parties, electoral systems, and bureaucracies.” ("Liberalism", (n.d.)). Because of the nature of communism, which has no political parties or electoral systems, the war for democracy was also a war for