The Cold War
Following the Second World War, we had a period in history called the Cold War. The Soviet Union and the United States had been on the same side during the war, but after the war they became rivals. Both countries wanted to rule the world in their own way, and had opposing ideologies. This resulted in a war between East and West where the authorities resorted to espionage in an attempt to find out what their rivals were doing. The United States and the Soviet Union have never used weapons against each other, but have come close on several occasions.
The Cold War
The Cold War between the superpowers the United States and the Soviet Union was a war of ideology between these two superpowers and their allies. An arms race started where both sides were producing and buying weapons and military equipment to intimidate the other. The objective was to appear superior both in terms of their army and their weapons.
Stor russisk kanon foran en blå himmel med hvite skyer.
Communism versus capitalism
The United States and the Soviet Union had different views on how the world should be governed. The US and other Western countries wanted democracy and capitalism. The capitalists had a lot of property and employed many people to work for them. Any profits would tend to go to the owners. The state’s management of the economy was minimal, but they were expected to provide socially useful services such as health, schools and defence. In a society like this, the gap between the owners and the workers can become very big.
Communism opposed capitalism. They believed that no one should own too much, and that everyone should have equal opportunities for work. People should not have to be worn out from hard work while a few people benefit and become rich from their efforts. Communist countries were often ruled by one party that persecuted and suppressed other political opponents. Following the Second World War, the Soviet Union began to spread communism around the world.
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