The big lesson of the Cold War: Ideology matters

The United States is in a new Cold War. But this time Washington’s chief opponent is China, with Russia currently serving as a junior partner. The U.S. and its allies would be wise to remember the greatest lesson of the last Cold War: ideology matters.

The conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union spanned the globe and lasted nearly half a century, arguably beginning at the end of World War II in 1945, and ending on Dec. 26, 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet regime. But it was more than a contest between two nuclear armed states, punctuated by hot wars among satellite nations and allies. It was, at its roots, an ideological conflict between the capitalist West and Soviet communism.

From start to finish the Soviet Union was ruled by committed communists. Yet many in the West, from pundits to politicians, often downplayed the role and importance of ideology, preferring to cast the Cold War as purely a rivalry between two great powers.

This line of thinking offered the advantage of making differences seem less intractable and the conflict less Manichean. But it also led the U.S. and others to fundamentally misread Soviet actions.