Disastrous utopia

Notice: Anyone wishing to buy potatoes must sign up at
accounting and bring bags with money. Administration

Actually, there were carrots and sticks built into Soviet socialism. There were awards: Hero of Labor, Udarnik - one who beats the quoto, or access to a better apartments and cafeterias. Also cash awards of "certificate" rubels or foreign currency which could be used in the beryozhki foreign-goods stores were a great incentive. When everyone else was playing Soviet pop on their magnitnofony, having the latest ABBA or Boney M record made you a god.

Likewise, failure has a heavy stick under a totalitarian system - which all socialist systems change into over time.

But a system only works when there are tangible, material rewards. Cash beats everything, any award you can get is measured in this.

Once a system has decayed to the point where the risks of failure outweigh the meagre rewards success bring, success disappears. A tin "veteran truda" pin for high self-esteem can't even buy a shot of vodka.

agreed. However, the soviets did not practice complete socialism, because that would have been impossible. Incentives were created but were modest and not worthwhile (as you point out). So there was a huge incentive problem in the soviet union...although you point out that it they did try. But that seems to be a negation of ideal socialism rather than an acceptance of it.

Finally, there was no free flowing price structure in the soviet union. Therefore, there was massive resourse misallocation.

Good points.

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