Cold War Revised

I still believe that the Cold War was born out of economic struggles, but I think I forgot a very important detail.  The spark that set all of the chaos in motion was, I believe, the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan.  Though tensions between the US and USSR were already high, this single event acted as a catalyst for the arms race, which is what i think was the main escalator of the Cold War.

Origins of the Cold War

I believe that when you trace back the roots of the Cold War, at the beginning you will find a story of economics.  The ideological differences between the Western capitalists and the Soviet Union that caused all the tension were born out of economic differences, more specifically capitalism versus communism.  Both sides were fighting to defeat the other system, as this would weaken their opponents economy while strengthening their own.  And I believe that this is the cause of the Cold War, the fight for a more powerful economy.  Those who have money have power, and power was in high demand during this period.  Following World War II, there was a lot of power up for grabs and both the West (United States) and the Soviet Union were willing to put everything on the line to gain this power, which would be obtained when the economic system of one side overtook the other.