Professor Niall Ferguson, Professor Arne Westad (chair)
18 October 2010, 6.30pm, Old Theatre
At its heart the Cold War was a competition between two economic systems. Despite having in common a "military-industrial complex", they were profoundly different in the degree of freedom they offered their citizens, the living standards they were able to achieve and the pace of technological innovation they could sustain. In this first lecture, Niall Ferguson compares and contrasts the United States and the Soviet Union in the Cold War and asks how far the outcome of the Cold War was economically determined from the outset. In particular, what role did commercial and financial globalization play in enhancing U.S. power in the world? And how serious a threat did inflation pose to the United States in the 1970s?
Speakers
Niall Ferguson is Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at LSE IDEAS for 2010-2011.
Arne Westad is Co-Director of LSE IDEAS and Professor of International History at LSE.
Location
Old Threatre, Old Building, London School of Economics. Map.