Mccarthyism Social Order

McCarthyism Social Order

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

McCarthyism Social Order

McCarthyism is a term originated in the 1950s and refers to U.S senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthyism is a practice of accusing American citizens for supporting communism and for treason against the nation. This period of Red Scare is marked by contemplation by different scholars and politicians because while the majority of the Americans were of the belief that the actions by the government were fair for the democratic system of USA and it created a deep sense of nationalism in the society. There were other people who believed that McCarthyism was a hindrance towards social and personal freedom and is a great cause of the destruction of social order. With this introduction of the concept of McCarthyism under consideration, the thesis statement of the paper is that McCarthyism resulted in the weakening of the American social order by impacting its political, social and economic structures.

U.S Senator Joseph McCarthy in February 1950, made a public announcement that a number of Communist have entered into the U.S state departments. This was a serious allegation against government officials and it created a feeling of distrust in the minds of the people against the government. Similarly, it is believed that McCarthyism was a political tactic of denigrating the political opponents by labeling them as espionage of the Soviet Union. This practice was sufficient for creating political instability in the country and a situation of a bout between the Republicans and Democrats. Thus it is apparent that the practice of McCarthyism was capable of weakening the political order of the American society by creating a feeling of distrust in the people against the government officials.

The social order of a society is not only based on the stability of institutions of the society but also on the mental wellbeing of the people. From another perspective, the practice of McCarthyism contributed in up-raising of deep anti-communist thoughts in the people. People started to have feelings of fear because an idea was embedded in the minds of the citizens that they are being cheated on, betrayed and plotted against and spied upon. In addition to this their liberty of speech was invaded. On the contrary, the rights of bureaucrats were also curbed which impeded the smooth function of the society. Thus this created chaos in the society which was detrimental for the social order of American society. As trust in the government and collaboration are the critical elements for a stable American Society.

The last impact of McCarthyism in the social order of America was on the economy of the nation. Investigation of government officials and a feeling of increased threat from communists resulted in spending of billions of dollars on expensive investigations and on the purchase of weapons. Likewise, increased anti-communist feelings increased people’s support for capitalism which strengthens the capitalistic practices and increased the act of accumulation of wealth in one segment of the society and exploitation of another segment of the society. The intensification of capitalism also disrupted the social order by creating an imbalance in the society.

To cap it all, McCarthyism was a practice of accusing others of supporting the ideology of communism. As a result, chaos was originated which negatively impacted the political system, economic structure, and the social order. Curbing the freedom of speech of the civilians and the freedom to act according to their professional rights of the bureaucrats, created instability in the society. Correspondingly it was a strategy to defame the political opponents by the Republicans which destabilized the political structure and lastly the promotion of capitalism due to augmented feelings of anti-communism disrupted the social order of America and created inequalities.