7

Marx Lenin

Lenin his disciple, wrote:

“Bolshevism can serve as a model of tactics for all” proletarians in the whole world.”1

Adolf Hitler also realised what the future would bring. In April 1945 he wrote:
“With the defeat of the Reich...there will remain in the world only two great powers capable of
confronting each other, the United States and Soviet Russia. The laws of both history and geography
will compel these two powers to a trial of strength, either military or in the fields of economics and
ideology.”2

You need to be able to discuss the importance of ideology as one reason for the Cold War. You should
be able to explain the ideologies of the two superpowers. Let’s do that by investigating four vital areas
within society:

Marxism-Leninism versus liberalism.

A. The economy:

The idea of a communist society or Marxism-Leninism is that the state controls the means of
production. It is a rejection of private capitalism and private companies. To achieve an equal society,
the state must plan how resources shall be used and how the result of the production shall be
distributed. State control of the means of production is a necessary prerequisite in creating an equal
and classless society. Common ownership will guarantee both equality and wealth. In Soviet Russia it
led to a nationalisation of both land and companies, without compensation to the previous owners.
According to Marxism a worker in a capitalist society is exploited by the capitalists. Consequently a
true Marxist wants to liberate oppressed workers in other countries. The rejection of private capitalism
and a desire to “liberate” oppressed workers in other countries terrified conservative politicians in
Western countries. “Let the ruling classes tremble”, said Marx.
In a liberal or capitalist society private ownership and a free market are cornerstones of the society.
Competition and a free market produce wealth, and government intervention is normally seen as a
negative thing. Even though some state intervention may be acceptable to secure a free market, it is
entrepreneurship, trade etc., that will guarantee a prosperous economic development. The Americans
wanted free trade between states to endorse economic growth. This policy was referred to as an “open
door policy”. From a Russian point of view, this was only a new form of imperialism. By creating
economic dependence, the political life of each country would later be controlled. The American
demand for “equal rights” was seen as a demand for economic conquest.