The Marshall Plan

Introduction

The Marshall Plan refers to an American Initiative after the World War II, focusing on revamping the economies of the devastated European countries that were destroyed in the war (Behrman, 2007). Most of the major cities and industrial centers of the European countries were destroyed when the war ended and the hopeless situation interfered with the trade activities in the region. Trade flows were adversely affected due to the destruction of the transport infrastructure such as docks, railways and bridges that facilitated exchange of goods. According to Behrman (2007), these problems proved difficult to manage in a small scale because the European countries had depleted their economies by largely investing in the war. United States and Canada still stood as superior powers with workable infrastructure after World War II hence; United States took affirmative action, which would still be beneficial to it through exports. Despite its prosperity, America needed to maximize on its exports and offering monetary aid to the devastated European countries created a platform of latter buying manufactured products and raw materials from United States and Canada. In Effect, the money would circulate back to the economy of America.

Beginning in April 1948, the four-year plan was based on monetary support for European establishment with an aim of countering Soviet Communism. The Marshall Plan was named after the prominence of George Marshall, the then Secretary of State who highly advocated for the plan. He promoted self-reliance in Europe by insisting that the European countries would develop their own programs while the U.S funded them. The plan became the European Recovery Program (ERP) officially and specialized in upgrading the European industries and businesses by mitigating problems such as artificial trade barriers and incorporating quality business models used in the United States. When the program came to a halt in 1952, each state that participated enjoyed economic growth with well-developed institutions set up to sustain the economies.

Advantages

The Marshall plan improved the economies of the European countries with the monetary aid. Economic and technical assistance worth US $13 billion were granted to the countries to boost reconstruction (Prentzas, 2011). The funding aided in abating the situation of poverty and starvation in the affected regions with industrial and agricultural production reaching their peak. Western Europe showed an element of transformation by the improved living standards. Trading barriers were eliminated and the unprecedented two decades of growth presented a promising economic future. However, the scope of the positive impact caused by the Marshall Plan in this case is debatable according to historians. Critics assert that the Plan should not be given much credit on the outstanding economic revival of the European countries because evidence shows that there were development strategies underway before United States embarked on the plan. Hence, it might have only contributed to Europe’s revival without being the pioneer of Europe’s economic recovery.

The plan fostered European integration for a pacified environment within the region and promote coexistence and prosperity. The Secretary of State, George Marshall emphasized a normal economic health in the world with the assurance of peace and political stability. Guidelines in the Marshall Plan created a framework of integration that would secure peace and prosperity among the European countries. However, this standard was not exactly attained because the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) solely remained an economic cooperation. Britain was excluded from the OEEC, which can be considered as the separate European Coal and Steel Community. Nevertheless, the gesture of the Marshall Plan for European integration remains a positive measure because guided by it, the OECC facilitated testing and training for economic structures. The European countries were motivated to work together on a plan for economic recovery.

The United States benefited from the Marshall Plan since it could then enjoy the revenue from the exports purchased by the European countries. The funds that were in the form of grants were in turn used by the European countries to import manufactured merchandise and raw materials from the United States (Bischof et al, 2000). This promoted businesses in America in the form of diplomacy. During the World War II, the economy of the United States notably improved after the overwhelming depression it underwent in the 1930s. Therefore, the Marshall Plan was a suitable strategy that would provide strong markets for its food and manufactured goods. The U.S feared to be back in the same predicament of poor economy so it ventured into the Marshall Plan to maximize on its economic status. In addition, there was free trade between Europe and the United States. Critics argue that the European countries were already aware about democracy and they already had machinery so the Marshall Plan was nothing more than a catalyst for the successful economic and political dimension of the earlier devastated European countries.

The U.S wanted the European countries to adopt Capitalism in their political system and discard communism, which was advocated by the Soviet Union. Salin had already taken over Eastern Europe but the U.S was still determined to spread democracy in terms of freedom of elections and of speech. Gaddis (2005) explains that the Marshall Plan was the ideal method to slow the spread of communism in Europe. The U.S believed that capitalism under democracy would strengthen the economy of a nation and since it was already, being practiced in America and it had valuable productivity. Hence, the country proposed the system to the European countries because it would result to immense growth especially at the time of Europe’s recovery. The U.S engaged in wars where the countries participating in the plan were threatened by the Communist neighbors. South Korea was defended by the U.S in its war with the communist North Korea. However, South Vietnam was superseded by North Vietnam. America remained vigilant in eliminating communists from the government.

Disadvantages

The Marshall plan made the culture of the United States abundant among the European countries. Therefore, the original culture of the latter became diluted. Prior to this, they were absorbed in the communist ideology, which attempted to maintain equality in their societies. However, the introduction of capitalism paved way for the emergence of social classes determined by the ability of individuals to afford products and services. The Europeans adopted the American culture in terms of fashion, music, housing and luxury. Teenagers became engaged with the ‘rock & roll’ type of music and America’s film industry, Hollywood was embraced by the Europeans. The American lifestyle became dominant in Europe and it compromised the native culture of the countries.

The plan was an avenue for Neo-colonialism in that the United States was given the first priority in all their endeavors. Critics argue that while the Marshall Plan was being executed, the United States established a form of control over the countries though without actual colonial rule. The plan gave America economic authority over Europe since the countries’ ventures were subject to the influence of the United States (Sarte, 2001). Therefore, it can be argued that the countries were not economically liberal to make decisions on programs they deemed of importance if they were not in line with the measures stipulated in the Marshall Plan. The Superiority of the United States undermined the potential of the countries since they became dependants (Schroter, 2005).

Why USSR Refused to Participate in the Marshall Plan

The Soviet Union refused to participate in the plan because it did not want to be superseded by the U.S, which had different political and economical ideologies. Salin felt that the United States was on a mission to destroy the dominance of the Soviet Union that was characterized by communism. Truman, who was the president of the United States then, attempted to contain the USSR through the Marshall Plan by agreeing to give monetary and weapon aid to the devastated European countries. This idea became famously known as the Truman doctrine. Stalin tried to counter the effect by preventing application of the countries within his control. The United States was known as a successful superpower whose economy was gradually growing and this superiority threatened Salin who did not want the U.S to take over among the countries that were under his control (Gaddis, 2005).

The Marshall Plan and the Truman doctrine marked the beginning of the cold war. There was mutual distrust and bipolar contest between U.S and USSR over power dominance (Gaddis, 2005). Each party felt that the other was after world domination. USSR wanted to maintain the puppet governments such as Romania and Poland, which were deprived of democracy. Stalin attempted to seal off Eastern Germany and push the West out of West Berlin, hence the Berlin Airlift. The U.S plan of the inspection on the production and testing of nuclear weapons was declined by the USSR. This insinuated ulterior motives such as the making and execution of bombs for attacks. On the other hand, the U.S retaliated by sending troops to support the White Army against the socialists. The U.S was also interested in Eastern Europe with attempts of spreading capitalism across the nations.

Work Cited

Behrman, Greg. The Most Noble Adventure: The Marshall Plan and the Time When America Helped Save Europe. Free Press, 2007. Print.

Bischof, Gunter, Pelinka, Anton and Stiefel, Dieter. The Marshall Plan in Austria. Transaction Publishers, 2000. Print

Gaddis, John. Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of American National Security Policy during the Cold War. Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.

Prentzas, G S. The Marshall Plan. New York: Chelsea House, 2011. Print.

Sarte, Jean-Paul. Colonialism and Neocolonialism. Routledge, 2001. Print

Schroter, Harm. Americanization of the European Economy: A Compact Survey of American Economic Influence in Europe since the 1880s. Springer, 2005. Print.