Explain the differences in ideology between the West and USSR.

Essay by Keir October 2005

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The differences between USSR and the West can be divided into two groups; one is from the political point of view, and the other can be the difference in economic system on both sides.

After the Bolshevik Revolution, under the rule of Lenin, the first socialist country was created, the USSR. The idea of socialism was developed through Marxist-Leninist theory, which is the building of the material base for communist under the dictatorship of the proletariat. Under the theory of socialism in USSR, everyone in the country must think for the whole community, and all businesses are under the government's control, and it is also a one-party state. The founding of socialism was the biggest threaten to the West back then. The central country of the West was the USA, a country under the ruling of capitalism, unlike the USSR, where the production and distribution are privately and corporately owned in the West countries.

There was also a difference in the political system between USSR and the West. In the USA, everyone has the right to speak, to vote, and also gives people a chance of select their own government, and that is called democracy. On the other hand, USSR is a communist state, which means there's dictatorship, everything is owned by the government, there was no freedom, and since it is a one-party state, there was no need for other political parties.

In the end, differences between the ideology of the West and of the USSR can be separated into politics, economics and culture. The political policies each party had were in direct proportion to the degree of liberty and meritocracy in their respective economic systems and thus the two should be taken into consideration together. The major Western countries had all experienced revolution,