This article explores tentatively the utility of sociological insight for analyzing conflict between large social systems. Since a main concern of sociology is the institutional frame of a society, it seems reasonable to look to a sociologist for a realistic conceptual focus of economic, political, and other aspects of international conflict. As a step toward this goal, the Soviet Union-U.S. case is outlined. Generalized laws explaining stress and change in social systems must await much research by teams of social scientists. A political aspect of Soviet-U.S. conflict is the relatively extreme readjustment in the international balance of power. Polarization, a second facet of Soviet-U.S. politics, seems to deepen the conflict. Alliances with other major powers are no longer possible for the rivals, satellites can hardly offer the security of the pre-war ententes. Soviet-U.S. conflict operates in the historical context of the industrializing process, proceeding so rapidly and pervasively in many peasant societies as to constitute a social revolution. Without a sense of the historical context and direction of change, understanding conflict between social systems is impossible. This particular conflict can be viewed as one between an earlier phase and a later emergence of industrialism.