Publication Date
6-14-2023
Document Type
Working Paper
Advisor
Professor John Hall
Journal of Economic Literature Classification Codes
N12, N14, E11, E1
Key Words
Cold War, Superpowers, Citizenry, American Capitalism, Soviet Union, Communism
Abstract
This inquiry seeks to establish that the citizenry inhabiting the two superpowers derived benefits from the Cold War; advantages that appear to have diminished with the start of the Post-Cold War Era. In the 1930s the Great Depression brought into question the efficacy of the Western capitalist system. As a challenge, a Soviet model running on a revolutionary zeal associated with establishing a new society underscored Joseph Stalin’s super-industrialization drive. The citizenry of both superpowers, as well as citizenry around the world, would ultimately benefit from the competition for dominance, albeit with certain costs, especially for human rights. Shifts in economic strategies during the 1980s contributed to asserted dominance of the American capitalist system and to the collapse of the Soviet Union’s “Grand Experiment.” The Post-Cold War era witnessed the undoing of many of the advances achieved during the Cold War era, with implications for the citizenry of both societies.
Rights
Copyright 2023 Abraham Escudero
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/40519
Citation Details
Escudero, Abraham. "The Importance of The Cold War and Its Ending, Working Paper No. 82", Portland State University Economics Working Papers. 82. (14 June 2023) i + 35 pages.