Origins and Ideological Rivalry

Two systems in an uneasy alliance

The Cold War grew out of a contradiction. Between 1941 and 1945 the United States and the Soviet Union fought as allies against Nazi Germany, yet they represented rival visions of how societies should be organized. The United States championed liberal capitalism: private property, market competition, multiparty elections, and free trade. The Soviet Union, shaped by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and the ideology of Marxism-Leninism, promoted a one-party state, collective ownership of the economy, and the belief that capitalism would eventually be overthrown by socialist revolution. These were not simply different policies but incompatible worldviews, each convinced that history was moving in its direction.

Suspicion had deep roots. Western powers, includ