The Cold War was an ideological battle between two opposing economic forces. Its sometimes labeled wrongly though when they say Democracy vs. Communism. The correct comparison is Capitalism vs. Communism. The Western powers disliked and distrusted the Soviets and Communism just as much as Hitler and the Nazis did, and following the war against Hitler, Nazism, and Fascism, do you think the Cold war was more of a fear of Communism, Totalitarianism, or both? Soviet Russia was both Communist and an oppressive Authoritarian State. Was that more of the ideological fear, Democracy vs. Totalitarianism, seeing as we recently defeated Hitler's Regime, only to have a larger, oppressive totalitarian regime to deal with post war. Was that more of the fear than Communism, or both?
This is a complicated subject and the assumptions implicit in your opening statement can be challenged Was there just one cold war? One feature of the cold war is that several regional conflicts became proxy limited wars and then frozen as across the intra Korean border and the borders between Israel and its neighbours. Were Israel and South Korea engaged in the same conflict? Was the cold war just about political and economic models? There was a whiff of nationalism and national interests in e.g. the removal of democratically elected President Allende of Chile is easier interpreted by the Monroe doctrine Did the Western Powers really "dislike and distrust the Soviets and Communism just as much as Hitler and the Nazis did," If they did they have yet to cross the start line. It might also depend on the state and who was in power
The US became a Security/ Quasi-Fascist state after the CIA and the Act that went along with in in 1947, organizing coups in other countries, assassinations, propaganda influence in foreign elections to support our economic and political interests across the globe in the name of National Security. Was the US more concerned with the totalitarian aspect vs. Democracy or the economic angle as capitalism vs. communism? And yes, the proxy wars were basically the US vs Russia in Korea, Viet Nam, and Afghanistan.
In my opinion, to understand Geopolitics today, one has to start at the source. It all began with infamous Churchill speech at the Westminster College in Fulton Missouri, with Truman at his side in 1946.
Im not sure it was Capitalism vs Communism...or if it was, then it boils down to money. As I see/saw it, it was two Super powers - One on the heels of a totalitarian regime bent on empire building...I think the US didn't want the USSR to expand...why? One can talk about cultural containment, the spread of communism, but as usual it boils down to money. Either Russia gets it or the US and its allies. So the "WAR" was about containment. If you went commy, you went to the USSR and became beholden to them to some extent. Trade and science goes to the side one is on. Not to mention the "fear" that communism takes money from the rich and gives to the "people". (At least in theory).
The US and CIA installed fascist dictatorships with cruel secret police in many third world South American and Middle Eastern countries, and had no qualms with assassinations and propaganda against Communism, all in the name of US business interests. Its hypocritical to say that the USSR was the bad guy when we were doing the exact same thing. The USA was democratic, but our civil liberties have been slowly decreasing, starting with the House Un-American activities committee and McCarthyism. Communism was Hitler's number one enemy, tied with the Jews. Communism was the USA's number one enemy, and recruited many Nazis to work for the CIA and Army research. So many Wall Street firms laundered money and were fascist/Nazi sympathizers in the 1930s and even during the war. Whether it was out of greed or true ideological agreements with fascism, that's debatable.
..agree- Bay of Pigs and Mosaddegh of Iran are 2 perfect examples ..but that's not to say that we did not have the ''best interests'' of the world in mind at times ..we won WW2 and thought we could do anything anywhere because of WW2's victory = plus WW2 created the greatest destruction and reconstruction--turmoil--of politics/etc --all over the world ...England, France, etc lost control and power in many places ---creating ''chaos'' in many places.....so the US thinks it needs and can be a policeman/etc to the world
