What Motivated The Marshall Plan

Using these four passages and your own knowledge, assess the view that the US policy of Marshall in 1947 was motivated mainly by the altruistic desire to help the economic recovery of Europe.

The European Recovery Programme, more commonly known as the Marshall Plan, was the American foreign policy masterminded by US Secretary of State George C. Marshall. Its aim was to provide financial support to war-torn Europe, following the conclusion of World War II in 1945. The interpretations that I will be analysing argue whether the Marshall Plan was mainly motivated by the altruistic desire to help the economic recovery of Europe. It is my view that nothing is altruistic and that every action has varying degrees of a self-beneficial motive.
Michael Balfour writes in ‘The Adversaries’ published in 1981 his view that the Marshall Plan was a protective device against that potential spread of communism. Balfour suggests that hunger due to economic downfall results in people turning to communism for a solution to their hardship. However, Balfour did not think that the Marshall Plan alone was strong enough to deter communism, he envisaged a plan to boost capitalism and build a strong military presence in Europe. In the passage, Balfour admits that “…the Plan would never had been granted by congress unless a considerable amount of emphasis had been laid on the danger of communism in Europe” . The US does not want to conclude World War Two by entering into an ideological war with communism, therefore congress would vote against any action that could be
The European Recovery Programme was the answer to the problem. It is the interpretation of J. L. Gaddis, writing in ‘The Cold War’, published in 2003, that it was a political grand strategy for gaining political superiority in the emerging cold war through economic