Text 1: Historian Page argues that the Cold War ended because the Soviet Union could not match U.S. military spending. Reagan's defense buildup, she contends, forced Moscow into an arms race that bankrupted its inefficient command economy, leading to Gorbachev's reforms and eventually to the system's collapse.
Text 2: Historian Karpov disputes this "spent into oblivion" thesis. The Soviet economy, he argues, had been stagnating for decades before Reagan's policies, undone by central planning, declining oil prices, and the costs of the Afghan war. The arms race accelerated decline but did not cause it; the system's flaws were largely internal.
The authors most clearly disagree about
- A
whether Gorbachev pursued reforms.
- Bcheck_circle
whether U.S. military pressure was the primary cause of Soviet collapse.
- C
whether U.S. defense spending increased under Reagan.
- D
whether the Soviet Union collapsed.
Explanation
Both accept the collapse, the buildup, and reforms. They differ on whether U.S. pressure was the primary cause. C captures the dispute.