The Cold War between the West, comprised of the United States and its NATO allies, and the Eastern Bloc, made up of the former Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies, did not directly impacted Western Society in a physical sense because no armed confrontation happened. The war was largely fought on political, technological, economic and social levels. The main protagonists funded and armed surrogates to conduct espionage and sabotage in order to gain advantage over each other. The effect to Western society was largely psychological.
The civilians in the 1950s had to undergo air-raid drills and built bomb shelters in anticipation for bomb raids from the Eastern Bloc. Over time, this practice faded but awareness of the Cold War remained high. As awareness heightened, different groups launched protests and demonstrations calling for the end of the Cold War. After the Second World War, decolonization intensified as more and more states sought independence from the colonizers. Nations clamored to be free from the influences of the West and East alike.
At this point, the Third World countries came into being in opposition to the two warring parties. These countries sought to become something other than subjects of bigger nations. The former colonies of the West wanted independence with the goal of obtaining peace and prosperity that they never had before. For instance, the United States granted independence to the Philippines in 1946; while Great Britain freed India, Pakistan, and some other colonies in Asia; and France released control of Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Algeria.
The Eastern Bloc, on the other hand, sought to end colonialism by trying to take control of countries through the spread of communism or by force.
References
Nosotro, R. The Cold War. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from http://www. hyperhistory. net/apwh/essays/big/w30coldwar. htm Rothstein, D. A. (2005). Psychological Effects of the Nuclear Age. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from http://www. psrchicago. org/Resources/PSRNEISPsycholNuclear081205. pdf Suffolk Community College Department. The Cold War. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from http://www2. sunysuffolk. edu/westn/coldwar. html