ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the obverse side of the genuine ideological issues of the Cold War. The basic distinction between “rightist” and “leftist” ideologies lies, according to R. J. Glossop in the distinction between priorities ascribed to two principles: the principle of merit, a basic value of the rightist ideology, and the principle of equality. A person could be a rightist with respect to economic ideology but a leftist with respect to political ideology and vice versa. There is a widespread belief that the source of the hostility between the United States and the Soviet Union is a clash of ideologies. On the American side the confrontation is said to be between “Communism” and “Democracy.” The essence of Communist ideology, as it is depicted in official pronouncements, is a distinction between the hitherto existing societies based on threat and a future society based on love.
