Question

document a
source: telegram from george kennan, the sources of soviet conduct, foreign affairs, july 1947.
note: george kennan was a foreign - service officer for the us government sent to moscow. this document is created from an 8,000 - word message sent to the state department in washington, dc, on february 22, 1946. it is known as the long telegram. it expresses his views on soviet - us relations as follows:
... communist thought as it existed in 1916 may perhaps be summarized as follows:
(a) that the central factor in the life of man... is the system by which material goods are produced and exchanged; (b) that the capitalist system of production... leads to the exploitation of the working class by the capital - owning class and is incapable... of distributing fairly the material goods produced by human labor; (c) that capitalism contains the seeds of its own destruction and must... result... in a revolutionary transfer of power to the working class; and
(d) that imperialism, the final phase of capitalism, leads directly to war and revolution.
... now it lies in the nature of the mental world of the soviet leaders... that no opposition to them can be officially recognized as having any merit or justification whatsoever...
... it is assumed in moscow that the aims of the capitalist world are antagonistic to the soviet regime... and from it flow many of the behaviors which we find disturbing in the kremlins* conduct of foreign policy: the secretiveness, the lack of frankness, the duplicity.... this means we are going to continue for a long time to find the russians difficult to deal with.
in these circumstances, it is clear that the main element of any united states policy towards the soviet union must be that of long - term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of russian expansive tendencies....
document analysis

1. who was george kennan?
2. in the first paragraph, kennan summarizes the communist ideology of the soviet union. according to this ideology, how does the capitalist system of the united states exploit, or take advantage of, the working class?
3. according to this communist ideology, who will eventually take control away from rich, property - owning capitalists?
4. according to kennan, how should the united states deal with the soviet unions desire to expand its territory and influence in europe and around the world?
5. according to kennan, should the soviet union be regarded as an ally or an enemy? why?

Explanation:

1. George Kennan was a U.S. foreign - service officer. He sent the "Long Telegram" expressing views on Soviet - US relations.
2. According to the ideology, the capitalist system exploits the working class by having the capital - owning class control the production system and not distributing fairly the goods produced by human labor.
3. According to the communist ideology, the working class will eventually take control away from rich, property - owning capitalists through a revolutionary transfer of power.
4. Kennan believed the U.S. should have a long - term, patient but firm and vigilant policy of containment of Russian expansive tendencies.
5. Kennan regarded the Soviet Union as an enemy because he saw the aims of the capitalist and Soviet worlds as antagonistic, with the Soviets having behaviors like secretiveness and duplicity in foreign policy.

Answer:

1. A U.S. foreign - service officer who sent the "Long Telegram" on Soviet - US relations.
2. The capital - owning class controls the production system and doesn't distribute goods fairly produced by human labor.
3. The working class.
4. Long - term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.
5. An enemy. Because the aims of the capitalist and Soviet worlds are antagonistic and the Soviets have behaviors like secretiveness and duplicity in foreign policy.