Economic Security and the Origins of the Cold War, 1945-1950

The "free trade" system American leaders promoted after World War II set the stage for the greatest boom in world commerce and production in recent history. Yet the main goal of the U.S. sponsored reform and reconstruction of the world economy, Robert Pollard shows, was to enhance U.S. security by binding together the major industrial powers. This interdependence, begun in the 1940;s, has served as the foundation of the Western alliance to this day.