Modern economic value can be described as a mixture of many philosophies into one philosophy. However two prominent philosophers, Adam Smith and Karl Marx, find their theories on economic value at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Smith’s writings on capitalism, and Marx’s writings on communism have created a fair amount of conflict throughout history. The well-known conflict called the Cold War featured two powerful nations who found themselves on the opposite sides of the economic values system. Smith’s and Marx’s philosophies found themselves at the forefront of a twentieth century conflict and their differences were at the forefront of the battle. Capitalism and Communism are two entirely different economic systems. Capitalism is an …show more content…
The Cold War pitted the communist Soviet Union and its satellites versus the capitalist western world lead by the United States . The Cold War began after World War Two and lasted until the middle of the Nineteen Nineties. Although the two superpowers never fought against each other directly, the conflict was expressed through military coalitions, espionage, weapons development, including a nuclear arms race, proxy wars, propaganda, and a competition to launch a man to the moon. Although the Soviet Union, allied themselves with the against the Axis powers during the last four years of World War II, disagreements existed mainly about the status of post-war Europe. At the war's conclusion, most of Europe was occupied by the allied powers, while the United States and the Soviet Union possessed the two most powerful military forces. The Soviet Union created the Eastern Bloc of countries that it occupied, and used them as satellite countries to spread their ideals in the Warsaw Compact. The United States and various western European countries began a policy of "containment" of communism and forged alliances to end communism, including NATO.In other regions of the world, such as Latin America and Southeast Asia, the Soviet Union created communist revolutionary movements, which the United States and many of its allies opposed. Many countries were prompted to align themselves with the nations that would later form either NATO or the Warsaw Pact, though other movements would emerge. The Cold War saw periods of both heightened tension and relative calm. International crises arose, such as the Berlin Blockade, two wars, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and NATO exercises in November 1983. There were also periods of reduced tension as both sides sought détente. Direct military attacks on adversaries were deterred by the potential for world destruction through nuclear warfare The Cold War