Post-World War II tensions were already high due to the Cold War and the presence of two global superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union In the Union, the main conflict between the two sides was that they were both trying to gain mass support and influence to help them control the world. The Soviet Union was known as communists, "Communism is a philosophical, social, political and economic ideology and movement whose ultimate goal is the creation of a communist society, i.e. a socioeconomic order structured on the ideas of common property of the means of production and the absence of social classes, money and the state." While the United States was known as capitalist, "capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their purposeful operation. of profit. The central features of capitalism include private ownership and the recognition of property rights, capital accumulation, wage labor, voluntary exchange, a system of competitive prices and markets opposing, neither wanted the expansion of the other's ideology. The United States was scared at the thought of this, so it implemented the policy of containment, which was the process of preventing the spread of a power ideology. hostile. George Kennan was the man who came up with this approach due to the growing Soviet influence floating around the eastern borders. The doctrine was created in 1946/47 after World War II, during President Truman's term in office. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The United States was committed to democracy and self-determination, or the right of citizens to determine their own form of government. They would not return to their isolationism after World War II, they believed that communism was too totalitarian and that "the structure of the Soviet government prevented objective or accurate pictures of internal and external reality" and they would not allow people to choose the government. Furthermore, the United States is a capitalist country, and therefore its prosperity depends on people buying its products around the world. In communist countries there is no private property, so people are excluded from buying products. The more communism spreads, the fewer people there will be to buy products, thus undermining capitalism. According to George Kennan, he believed that the Soviets saw themselves at war with capitalism and would use controllable Marxists in the capitalist world and even stated that: “In summary, we have here [in the Soviet Union] a political force fanatically committed to the belief that with the United States there can be no permanent modus vivendi according to which it is desirable and necessary that the internal harmony of our society be disrupted, our traditional way of life destroyed, the international authority of our state broken, if Soviet power is to be sure. This political force has full power to command the energies of one of the largest peoples in the world and the resources of the richest national territory in the world and is supported by the deep and powerful currents of Russian nationalism." This is a clear representation of the ongoing tension between two superpowers who intend to ruin the other, so it is clear that the fear of the spread of a communist ideology was the reason for intervening early to prevent this before it creates problems, this is been seen through the support and creation ofalliances, so clearly describing the fear of communism was the sole purpose of introducing the containment policy. An important starting point was the Greek Civil War that began in 1946, which was a conflict between conservative and communist parties, this led to Greece receiving support from the United States to prevent communist influence in the region as Greece was considered a significant threat if it fell to communism. Westerners feared this due strategic value of Greece in the Mediterranean. This led Truman in March 1947 to request money from Congress to help these countries under communist threat such as Greece and Turkey which would prove strategically valuable to the United States, this consisted of asking for up to $400 million in to help these countries. This in turn led to the Truman Doctrine, in order to expand the containment of the spread of communist ideology, meaning the United States assumed international responsibility as the leader of the Western world. this doctrine helped Greece and led it to be under their wing and receive the support of the conservative government, for the United States this was a plan that was executed precisely in the hope of overthrowing their opposition. The idea of ​​economically aiding European nations, introduced in 1947, helped Greece and Turkey fall into the hands of the communists, however this was transformed from short-term aid into an essentially long-term support and reconstruction plan to overcome the opposition defined as communist. This was not intended to be part of the original containment plan, however it became a critical step forward, as indirect Soviet influence and actions were becoming increasingly apparent, therefore leading to the need for further action. This further action was known as the Marshall Plan, considered a long-term strategic plan that led to the financial support of European countries that had actually suffered due to the significant impact of the Second World War, the weekend countries needed to be rebuilt in order to regain a capitalist market and avoid communist revolutions. This was successful as Western democratic nations accepted this aid to speed up the process of rebuilding the economy and, in turn, were the ones who recovered well and steadily, while those who did not tended to decline economically after the war. For this reason, the Western European countries involved had higher rates and levels of productivity, benefited from fewer trade barriers, and were able to distribute and use resources more efficiently. Overall, the Marshal Plan cost the United States approximately $13 billion over 4 years, which clearly demonstrates the desperation with which the United States sought to avoid the spread of enemy communism in the years 1946-1947. However, in opposition to the United States tactics through containment of the Soviets opposed Marshall aid in many ways. First, it prohibits those in the Eastern Bloc who were considered allies of the Soviet Union from being unable to request Marshall aid to maintain their position and continue the spread of communism. In addition to this, they worked to provide support to those who needed financial support and guidance otherwise known as COMECON. The Soviets retaliated by preventing the United States from driving them out and attempting to build their own eastern economy and trade network within it. As strategic as it may seem, the USSR found it difficult to compete with America's resources because it had little to nothing to offer in comparison. It really was one.