Author: Casimir Colon (Page 3 of 5)

Part 1:
Amadeo, Kimberly. “How the Cold War Continues to Affect You Today.” The Balance, www.thebalance.com/cold-war-summary-events-causes-economic-impact-5070226.

History.com Editors. “Soviet Union.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 1 Sept. 2017, www.history.com/topics/russia/history-of-the-soviet-union.

Part 2:
Forms of government and economics intertwine for one cannot fully stabilize itself without the other. Every country needs a stable economy to maintain an effective form of government. In the first entry, I broke down the origins of the two main forms of government that competed for global expansion during the Cold War Era. This entry will cover the lasting effects the Cold War has on the US and USSR’s economy and the events leading to it. How the Cold War changed America’s economy forever is through technological growth and international trade. During the Cold War, America grew technologically by competing with Russia in what is known as the Space Race. The Space race was a 20 year technological competition between the two countries that grew rapidly after Russia launched Sputnik I, the first satellite. During this period, NASA inventions ultimately lead space exploration possible. This resulted in Apollo 11, the first crew members to walk the moon. After this American accomplishment, the US ultimately won the Space Race. Their inventions that were used during the Race are used today in forms such as CAT scans, freeze dried food, infrared thermometers, and kidney dialysis machines. Another way the American economy changed was through international trade with other countries. One example is China albeit the negative tension the two countries share. As the Cold War started to ease slowly, President Nixon sought to de-escalate tension and instead open up business partnership with China. Ever since those relations, trades with China lead to America accumulating a total of $558 billion dollars by 2019. How the USSR’s economy changed forever was failed attempts of western policies leading to its collapse. The Soviet Union experienced initial growth after WWII but slowly started to fail under the Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev sought to decentralize (break down into multiple sectors) the economy with his “second economy” policy but failed due to food shortages and a weakened relationship with China. Khrushchev soon left office due to his failed credibility. After he left, Mikhail Gorbachev became leader and implemented capitalistic economic policies such as ‘perestroika’ or reconstructing to revive an ailing USSR. Although it appeared to work, Soviets who were opposed to these policies reacted with chaos by attempting to overthrow Gorbachev, causing perestroika to fail. This marked the final years of the Soviet Union until its inevitable collapse in 1991.

Part 3:
The article that elaborates on the US economical effects gives an overall positive reception. I agree that the lasting economic impact are beneficial. America, a superpower, is doing well as the richest country in the world with universal relations and advanced technology: “At the same time, we’ve benefited from the technological innovations sparked by NASA and other advances of the era.” Russia is, however, on the contrary. Russia is a potential superpower with an economy that ranks 11th most richest country in the world. Their decline in the article used states failed policies increased the collapse rate: “Perestroika was Gorbachev’s plan for economic restructuring. Under perestroika, the Soviet Union began to move toward a hybrid communist-capitalist system, much like modern China”, “Meanwhile, Gorbachev’s reforms were slow to bear fruit and did more to hasten the collapse of the Soviet Union than to help it. A loosening of controls over the Soviet people emboldened independence movements in the Soviet satellites of Eastern Europe.” I agree with these statements because Gorbachev’s policies sparked a slow transition to a more democratic nation thus destabilizing the Communist rule. This transition nailed the coffin in the collapse of the USSR. Russia continues to economically struggle due to other nations such as the United States imposing economic sanctions, hurting their economy more. Both these documents tell me that America, both economically and technologically has the upper hand. Next, entry will be about another major factor in the Cold War that heavily breathes today: proxy wars.

Part 4:
“Many of the effects of the Cold War are so ingrained in the American experience that we just take them for granted. We’ve learned to live with the threat of nuclear annihilation and ongoing conflicts in world hotspots.”

“On December 25, Gorbachev resigned as leader of the USSR. The Soviet Union ceased to exist on December 31, 1991.”