What were the political, social and economic causes and effects of the Cold War?

[Charlie B]

What political issues caused the Cold War?
What economic issues helped lead to the Cold War?
What social issues helped lead to the Cold War?

[Ilya]

Being Russian, I feel especially entitled to answer this one. Simple answer: World War II. Where America had been largely isolationist, and the Soviet Union had been propagandists and subversives in the cause of Communism in the free world, World War II brought the German invasion and conquering of a lot of Europe with attempts in North Africa. In the absence of German rule, the two chief political ideologies in the world at the time went eagerly about administering temporary rule over the countries newly bereft of leadership. The Soviet Bloc and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) were formed, thus drawing a clear line of distinction right down the middle of the developed world. Winston Churchill, having seen inside the mind of the megalomaniacal mind of Stalin, warned of the possibilities of Russian desires for domination of the world, covering everyone under a world world Communist government umbrella, but this didn't really incite anything that wasn't already there. Stalin wanted the world. After 20 million casualties in World War II, Stalin wasn't eager to lose an actual war to conquer lands, but decided propaganda and subversion would work to weaken political systems of other countries. The USSR began a program of active espionage against other countries, while the US formed the Central Intelligence Agency to counter Soviet ideology's propagation and, in turn, propagate democracy throughout the world. As Stalinist/Communist thought spread, more vigorously under Krushchev, America was more willing to engage in more minor skirmishes than an outright war with the USSR, so America countered, militarily, Communist efforts in Korea and Vietnam. Earlier, Krushchev drew a line in the sand by banging his shoe on the podium at the United Nations and yelling, "We will bury you!" at the US representative.

Political and social issues are covered therein, but the economic issues are quite simple: while the USSR and the US had firm holds over fuel deposits, the USSR took losses in World War II because they generally did not trade with the free world, partially because no one wanted bad Soviet technology, partly because Communism didn't really have a philosophy of trading with the outside world. The US could sell all over the world. Any country wants natural resources. The Soviet economy was false, completely internal, based on what they could generate and move internally, whereas the US could get an influx of income from the world over. The Soviets wanted natural resources -- to basically steal what others had to prop up their false internal economy -- and the US wanted to maintain what was freely available to the highest bidder in fair markets.

Just off the top of my head. You'd have to research further to get specifics.

[MrV]

The Cold War began as World War II was ending. American leaders saw the power and ambitions of the Soviet Union as a threat to our national security. The Cold War was a war of words and ideologies rather than a shooting war, although at times the Cold War turned “hot” as in Korea and Vietnam. Basically, the Cold War was a rivalry between the United States as leader of the western democracies, and the Soviet Union and the nations that were controlled by the communists.
Check the sites below.

[augie6_1]

World War II destroyed all other major rivals to American and Soviet power; the US and USSR emerged from the conflict as the only two nations on earth that could hope to propagate their social and political systems on a global scale. Each commanded powerful military forces; each espoused globally expansive ideologies; each feared and distrusted the other. In the end, it may have been more shocking if the two superpowers had not become great rivals and Cold War enemies.

From Shmoop/Cold War Causes and Origins