The project of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) logically flowed out of the 'aid' dispersed by American imperialism to Western Europe. The economic integration of the European states provided the basis for the military alliance against communism.
The US could not hope to 'contain' the Soviet Union unless it could create the strong bulwark of a 'united' capitalism in Europe. But the linchpin of that 'united' capitalism was a viable Germany, and that is why the US forced through the formation of the West German Federal Republic in 1949.
This established the conditions for geiting West Germany into NATO. The French and the British-worried about German competition and haunted by the threat of German militarism-dragged their feet. The French proposed through the Pleven Plan a European Defence Community which was their alternative to a German army. Dependent on German coal, they also suggested via the Schuman Plan a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).
The ECSC offered the prospect of a capitalist steel industry in Germany which was not dominated by the Krupps and Von Thysenns. The federal European army-because that is what the EDC meant-fell by the wayside. The ECSC, which eventually came into existence in 1952, was the first tentative step towards a common economic policy for European capitalism As the post-war boom swept Europe the ECSC received a great boost-a boost further accelerated by the spending spree on steel engendered by the Korean war and the demands of the re-armament drive.
Furthermore the wave of radicalisation that had swept the