

The Cold War was a period of conflict and competition between the two new world superpowers, the USA
and Communist Russia (the United Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR) that emerged at the end of the
Second World War. It was called the ‘cold war’ as relations between the two powers remained icy until
1991 when the USSR collapsed and it was claimed that communism lost the race to win the world over to
its cause. Why did this conflict begin and how did two allies during World War Two so quickly become
adversaries by its end?
 To explore this question we need to explore the ideologies or the key ideas that governed the two societies
before World War Two in order to understand why conflict between them was perhaps inevitable.

Activity 1: Creating Your Own Government

You are the leader of a new country, and you must decide what ideas make up your ideology. Your ideology will
influence the way you see the world and how you will govern your own country.

Below are a number of statements that relate to the two Cold War ideologies, capitalism and communism. For
your government you are to highlight the nine statements that you will use to make up your ideology. Of those
nine, decide which are the three most important ideas for your government and write a paragraph justifying your
decision which you will share with the class.

1. People are free to decide how to spend their money.

2. Competition between companies is healthy.
3. Every person is considered equal.
4. Everyone must chip in to create a better country, rather than selfishly create a better life for themselves.
5. Any profit your country makes will be shared among the people, with the neediest people getting the
most.
6. Different companies are allowed to make and sell the same product.
7. You run all the businesses and decide the prices of goods and wages to create a fair system where no
one is ripped off.
8. You control all aspects of people’s lives to ensure equality.
9. You decide how the resources within your country are best used.
10. People with higher skills get paid more money.
11. You are prepared to force people to obey your laws.
12. All people are seen as equally valued and important to the growth of society.
13. Only the strongest and the fittest should survive.
14. People should only be told what you wish them to know.
15. Any group criticising or undermining your government should be removed.
16. People may own as many goods as they wish, and be under no obligation to give anything to those less
fortunate.
17. If you make a profit you keep it.
18. Everyone has the right to criticise you, and vote for another leader if they don’t think you are doing a
good job.
19. If people make poor business decisions and go bankrupt, it’s their fault.
20. Workers should have a say in the way their workplace is run and have a share in the profits.
  Justification: I believe my top nine rules would be that the people are free to decide how to spend their
own money, everyone must chip in to create a better country rather than selfishly create a better for
themselves. , any profit your country will be shared among the people, with the neediest people getting
the most, your control all aspects of the people lives ensure equality, people with higher skills get paid more
money, you are prepared to force people to obey laws, if you make a profit keep it and everyone has the
right to criticize you, and vote for another leader if they don’t think your doing a good job. So I believe my
top three most important laws would be people are free to decide how to spend their own money, everyone
must chip in to create a better country rather than selfishly create a better for themselves and everyone
has the right to criticize you, and vote for another leader if they don’t think your doing a good job.

What were the two Cold War ideologies that divided America and Russia? America throughout the 19th century
expanded and developed into a powerful industrial country with a large number of resources and a strong economy.
It had adopted a capitalist economy where people were free to run their own businesses and become wealthy.
Russia, on the other hand, was a poor and agricultural country by the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1917,
a new revolutionary government seized power under Vladimir Lenin who was influenced by the ideas put forward
in The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx. Marx believed in the rights and equality of the workers. Russia became
the first communist country in the world and its beliefs and policies worried many other countries.

 Below is a comparison between Capitalism and Communism:

  
 CAPITALISM  COMMUNISM

  
 Society  A capitalist society is centered on the  A communist society is centered on the well
rights and freedom of the individual. being and equality of the community.

 
 Business  Businesses, factories and property should
be owned by private individuals and
companies. This allows for a free and
competitive market that allows people
the opportunity to succeed.

 Businesses, factories and property should be
owned by the government on behalf of the
people. This allows for fairness and protects the
rights of workers who may not have the
capacity to succeed.

  
 Profit  People should be able to make as much  Rich people should be forced to share their
money as they can and keep it for wealth to help those who have not being able to
themselves. succeed.

  
 Workers  Workers are employed by employers and  Workers perform the hard work for their
are paid for their work. employers and should have a say and share in
the business.
  
 Daily Life  The government should interfere as little  The government should be as involved as
as possible in the daily lives of ordinary possible in the daily lives of ordinary people.
people.

  
 Elections  There are multiple political parties and  There is only the communist party and people
people are allowed to vote for whoever are only allowed to vote for communists at
they want at elections. elections.
 
 Media  The media is free and independent and
should be allowed to criticise the
government.

 The media is controlled and should not be
allowed to criticise the government which is
already working in the best interests of the
community.

  
 Religion  The government is separate from the  Religion is nonsense and should therefore not
church and should not interfere in be allowed by the government.
religion.

 
 Perceptions  Communists are controlling and allow no
of each freedom.
other
 
 Quotes  American President Truman, 12 March
1947:
 “[Our] way of life is based upon the will of
the majority, and is distinguished by free
institutions, representative government,
free elections, guarantees of individual
liberty, freedom of speech and religion
and freedom of political expression.”

 Capitalists are greedy and selfish and there is
significant inequality in a capitalist society.

 USSR Premier Stalin, 9 February 1945:
 “The Soviet social system has successfully stood
the test in the fire of war and it has proved its
complete vitality. The Soviet social system has
proved to be more capable and more stable
than a non-Soviet social system. The Soviet
social system is a better form of society than any
non-Soviet system.”

  
 Propaganda

 By the end of the Second World War, America was ready to spread both democracy and capitalism around
the world so as to create new trading partners and to develop wealth and peace between nations. Russia
on the other hand, continued to believe that communism would wipe out capitalism and that workers
 across the world would overthrow their employers and work toward a more equal society. Russia helped
support communist governments and parties in countries across the world.
Activity 2: The Cold War Competition

1. Referring back to the statements in Activity 1, next to each one, indicate whether it is a capitalist or a
communist belief.
2. In a paragraph, explain what are the advantages and disadvantages of the capitalist system?
3. In a paragraph, explain what are the advantages and disadvantages of the communist system?
4. What do the two propaganda posters reveal about American-Russian relations during the Cold War?
5. Explain why America would distrust Russia by the end of the Second World War?
6. Explain why Russia would distrust America by the end of the Second World War?
7. Do you think that the Cold War was inevitable given the two ideologies? Can the two systems coexist?
Why/why not?

Economic freedom helps political freedom. If governments own the means of production and set prices, it invariably
leads to a powerful state and creates a large bureaucracy which may extend into other areas of life. Efficiency. Firms
in a capitalist based society face incentives to be efficient and produce goods which are in demand. These incentives
create the pressures to cut costs and avoid waste. State owned firms often tend to be more inefficient (e.g. less
willing to get rid of surplus workers and less incentives to try new innovative working practices.) Economic growth.
With firms and individuals facing incentives to be innovative and work hard this creates a climate of innovation and
economic expansion. This helps to increase real GDP and lead to improved living standards. This increased wealth,
enables a higher standard of living; in theory, everyone can benefit from this increased wealth, and there is a ‘trickle
down effect’ from rich to poor. Social Benefit Ignored. A free market will ignore extenalities. A profit maximising
capitalist firm is likely to ignore negative externalities, such as pollution from production. This can harm living
standards. Similarly, a free market economy will under-provide goods with positive externalities, such as health,
public transport and education. This leads to an inefficient allocation of resources. Even supporters of capitalism will
admit that government provision of certain public goods and public services is essential to maximise the potential
of a capitalist society. Inherited Wealth and Wealth inequality. A capitalist society is based on legal right to private
property and the ability to pass on to future generations. Capitalists argue that a capitalist society is fair because you
gain the rewards of your hard work. But, often people are rich, simply because they inherit wealth or are born into
a privileged class. Therefore, capitalist society not only fails to create equality of outcome, but also fails to
provide equak9ty of opportunity Inequality creates social division. Societies which are highly unequal create
resentment and social division.

The major disadvantage of communism is that it doesn't work. Communism relies on the ability of government to
plan an economy. But an economy is too big to be centrally planned. Communism relies on people to work hard
and do their absolute best without any tangible incentive to do so. It does not appeal to people's selfish desires the
way capitalism does. For these reasons and others, it has never worked the way it is supposed to. The main
advantage of communist and socialist schemes is that if everybody worked together nobody would have to work
very hard and everybody could be comfortable. The usual result has been, as illustrated in Orwell's Animal Farm,
that power is transferred from one group, the capitalists, to another group, the party leaders, and you have the same
thing in a different guise. The Soviets eventually had to acknowledge that top-down management just wasn't
working and that a return to private enterprise was the only hope of getting out of the mess they had created. This
happened very spectacularly under Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin in the 1980s and 1990s.
  Iron curtain: a notional barrier separating the former Soviet bloc and the West prior to the decline of
communism that followed the political events in eastern Europe in 1989.
 What is the importance of the Truman Doctrine? The Truman Doctrine was the American policy in 1947
of providing economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey because they were threatened by
communism. It was the start of the containment policy to stop Soviet expansion; it was also a major step
in beginning the Cold War.
 Why was 1949 a bad year for the West? Cold war character change in 1949 and 1950
During the cold war, the USA and the soviet were allies against the Nazi Germany regime. There was
opposing plans relating to the economic and political future after the Second World War. Also the dispute
came as a result of the development and controlling of the nuclear weapon.

 What role does Australia play in the early Cold War?

 Korean War, 1950‒53. Australia sent contingents from the three services to fight with the United Nations in
Korea. Most of the UN force was American, but with contingents from other countries. The 3rd Battalion of
the Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) served from September 1951 to July 1953. Significant battles were
Kapyong (April 1951) and Maryan San (October 1951).

 Malaya, 1950‒60. Australia sent units from the three services to assist Britain and the Malayan Government
fight Communist Terrorists in the Malayan Emergency. Australian battalions served on rotation for periods of
two years beginning in 1955. There were no major battles and only a few ambushes and patrol clashes.

 Malaysia, 1965‒66. Australian forces assisted Britain and Malaysia in countering Indonesia’s Confrontation
with Malaysia. Two Australian battalions, two Special Air Service (SAS) squadrons and several engineer
squadrons served in Borneo. There were several deadly ambushes and patrol clashes, but no major battles.

 South Vietnam, 1962‒72. Australian forces assisted South Vietnam and the United States in the Vietnam
War. In 1962 Australia sent army advisers. In 1965 a battalion was deployed. The following year this battalion
was replaced by a task force with two and later three battalions operating in Phuoc Tuy Province. The RAAF
sent helicopters, Canberra Bombers and Caribou transport aircraft. The RAN generally had a ship operating
offshore. Major battles were Long Tan (August 1966), Coral‒Balmoral (May 1968) and Binh Ba (June 1969).

 How was the war dangerous to human life? Nuclear bombs


Cold War Timeline
1946: Worrying about the Soviet takeover
of Eastern Europe, Churchill warns the world
that ‘an Iron Curtain’ has now divided
Europe into two camps, the capitalist West
and the communist East.
1947: In response to the threat of communist
advancement in Greece and Turkey, American President
Harry S Truman launches the policy of the Truman
Doctrine committing America to the containment of
communist aggression anywhere in the world. This sees
America take on a major international role in supporting
and supplying anti-communist movements in other
countries and in stopping the further spread of
communism.
1950-1953: The Truman Doctrine is put to the test
when America helps halt the Communist North Korean
invasion of South Korea. Backed by Russia and China,
the North ultimately fails to unite the two Koreas under
one communist government and Korea remains divided
to this day. 300 Australian troops die in the attempt to
‘contain communism.’
1957: America and the West are concerned that they
are falling behind in the Cold War when the USSR
launches the world’s first successful rocket, Sputnik in
October. Even more worrying is the possibility of
now housing a nuclear weapon in the missile rocket
which can be used to attack the West. The arms race
and Cold War competition continues.
Activity 3: Timeline Study
1. In what ways was Stalin responsible for the Cold
War? Were his actions justified?
2. What is meant by the term ‘Iron Curtain?’
3. What is the importance of the Truman Doctrine?
4. Why was 1949 a bad year for the West?
5. What role does Australia play in the early Cold
War?
6. How was the Cold War dangerous to human life?
1945: The Allies defeat and divide Germany. As
the Russian Red Army clears away the Germans
in Eastern Europe, Russian leader Stalin ‘plants’
new communist governments friendly to the
USSR into those ‘liberated’ countries. Stalin
claims this is to keep a buffer zone between the
West and the USSR to keep Russia secure.
America and Britain see this as aggressive and
expansionist. Stalin is distrustful of America for
exploding the first atomic bomb to defeat
Japan.
1948/49: War between East and West almost breaks
out when Stalin cuts off all Western access to the
Allied sector of Berlin. Having divided Germany
between the Allies after the war, Berlin was also
divided but was precariously located within the
Russian zone. The West stages a 11 month airlift
which supplies the stranded capital by air, forcing
Stalin to give in. In September, the Russians detonate
their first atomic bomb starting the nuclear arms race
between Russia and the USA. In October, China
becomes a Communist country.
1954: Australia joins SEATO (South East Asia Treaty
Organisation) as a defensive alliance designed to
prevent the spread of communism in the region.
SEATO and the 1951 Australia-New Zealand-United
States (ANZUS) Treaty sees Australia ally closely with
America in the Cold War.
1961: Berlin again becomes the centre of the Cold
War when the Russians construct a wall around the
Western sector of the German capital to stop citizens
living in the communist sector leaving or moving into
the capitalist sector. The imposing wall would divide
Berlin until 1989.
1962: The Cold War nearly gets too hot when the
Russians move nuclear missiles into Cuba which can
easily target American cities. Almost coming to the
brink of nuclear war and global destruction, the
Cuban Missile Crisis is resolved when President
Kennedy makes a deal with the USSR and soon after
installs a hotline to stop any such tense events from
occurring again. Tensions continue on and off into
the 70s and 80s.