What were the main reasons for the beginning of The Cold War between the USA and the USSR from 1945?

The Cold War wasn’t a physical war fought between two opposing sides. Instead it was the name given to the relationship between Eastern European countries and Western European countries along with the USA. This “Cold” relationship between the USA and the USSR commenced and developed after World War Two. Although, naturally, one would expect these two allies during the war to have a strong, pleasant relationship with one another, this was not the case; there was a growing rivalry between the two instead. My essay will explore the ideas and causes leading up to the Cold War, and will conclude on the main reason for the beginning of the Cold War.

The USA and the USSR were two supreme powers after winning the Second World War. Together, they could have accomplished great things. However, with the vast majority of their ideology behind economics and politics at variance, there was no chance of the two cooperating or accepting each other’s ways of life, instead it intensified the rivalry between the two nations. This was, without doubt, the most significant cause of The Cold War. The forms of government in both nations clearly portrayed their philosophy. The USA was, and still remains, a capitalist democracy consisting of rich and poor people; private property; and the belief that opportunity is more important than equality. People in the US also had individual rights such as freedom of speech and the right to vote in free elections. In contrast to this, the USSR had a communist dictatorship. It aimed to maintain the same standard of living for everyone throughout the nation, even though it was not of a particularly high standard. The Soviet system of government also disallowed the ownership of private property, and believed that its...

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.... The Berlin Blockade would also probably not have occurred, as the system of government within Eastern European countries would not have clashed and either side would therefore not have been worried about Germany joining the opposition. Overall, I can accurately say that the conflicting views of communism and capitalism were by far the biggest cause of the Cold War. I believe that the other causes of the Cold War can only be put in chronological order to show their importance, as one cause led to the other; the long term causes led to short term causes, showing a knock –on effect. For that reason, the root cause, in this case communism vs. capitalism is the most significant cause, and the following causes are arguably just as important as each other. There is no strict order of importance which the smaller causes follow, as one cause usually leads to another cause.