US and USSR alliance breakdown 1945-1946: Ideology

US and USSR alliance breakdown 1945-1946: Ideology

1. USSR

   • Communist - all industry owned and run by the state
   • One-party dictatorship, even with elections, all candidates were Communist Party members
   • Economic superpower due to rapid industrial growth in 1920s and 1930s
   • Unemployment and extreme poverty rarer than in the US
   • Leaders wanted to spread the communist model
   • Rights of individuals not important as the good of the whole society
   • USSR not led by communist ideology of spreading revolutions, rather pratical decision-making
   • USSR saw USA's actions as selfish; focus on economic gain and political influence

2. USA

   • Capitalist - businesses and properties are privately owned
   • Democracy - government elected in free democratic elections
   • Wealthy capitalist country, with extremes of great wealth and great poverty
   • Freedom from control of the government was important for citizens
   • Americans believed their way of life should be the way for other countries
   • People feared the spread of communism
   • Government policies seen as 'doing the right thing'