{"id":492,"date":"2012-07-05T10:12:01","date_gmt":"2012-07-05T10:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rulesofreason.wordpress.com\/?p=492"},"modified":"2012-07-05T10:12:01","modified_gmt":"2012-07-05T10:12:01","slug":"ten-things-i-learned-from-red-plenty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/re-design.dimiter.eu\/?p=492","title":{"rendered":"Ten things I learned from ‘Red Plenty’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Red Plenty<\/em><\/a> is Francis Spufford’s semi-fictional book about the efforts to apply economic planning in the Soviet Union during the 50s and 60s. It is a great book and has been already extensively discussed<\/a> elsewhere. (Don’t miss\u00a0Cosma Shalizi’s\u00a0post <\/a>in particular). Here is what I learned from ‘Red Plenty’:<\/p>\n

1. Linear programming has been developed in the Soviet Union as a technique to optimize centralized economic planning. It has been later re-discovered in the US.
\n2. During the 50s Soviet scientists have been developing a\u00a0successful\u00a0independent line of computer technology, later to be dropped at the expense of copying the West.
\n3. In a centralized economy, consumers always face the greatest shortages because they are the end of the supply line.
\n4.\u00a0Nikita Khrushchev has expressed doubt and remorse for the violence of the Soviet regime during the 30s and 40s in his memoirs.
\n5. The Soviets built in the midst of Siberia Akademgorodok – an entire city for scientists from all sorts of academic disciplines. With an artificial sea next to it.
\n6. A Clockwork Orange<\/em> is inspired by a violent Soviet youth subculture.
\n7.\u00a0Women in the Soviet Union have been forbidden\u00a0to experience pain during birth.\u00a0In a softer form, the Soviet programs for ‘natural’ birth\u00a0have been\u00a0later revamped\u00a0in Western Europe.
\n8. The Americans have charmed Soviet citizens in their first exhibition in Moscow by showing shiny plastic consumer goods and appliances and a dazzling video display.
\n9. In the Soviet planned economy being able to buy staff requires similar skills (and middlemen)\u00a0as being able to sell staff in a market economy.
\n10. It is impossible to avoid prices in coordinating an economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Red Plenty is Francis Spufford’s semi-fictional book about the efforts to apply economic planning in the Soviet Union during the 50s and 60s. It is a great book and has been already extensively discussed elsewhere. (Don’t miss\u00a0Cosma Shalizi’s\u00a0post in particular). Here is what I learned from ‘Red Plenty’: 1. Linear programming has been developed in the Soviet Union as a technique to optimize centralized economic planning. It has been later re-discovered in the US. 2. During the 50s Soviet scientists have been developing a\u00a0successful\u00a0independent line of computer technology, later to be dropped at the expense of copying the West. 3. In a centralized economy, consumers always face the greatest shortages because they are the end of the supply line. 4.\u00a0Nikita Khrushchev has expressed doubt and remorse for the violence of the Soviet regime during the 30s and 40s in his memoirs. 5. The Soviets built in the midst of Siberia Akademgorodok – an entire city for scientists from all sorts of academic disciplines. With an artificial sea next to it. 6. A Clockwork Orange is inspired by a violent Soviet youth subculture. 7.\u00a0Women in the Soviet Union have been forbidden\u00a0to experience pain during birth.\u00a0In a softer form, the Soviet programs for ‘natural’ birth\u00a0have been\u00a0later revamped\u00a0in Western Europe. 8. The Americans have charmed Soviet citizens in their first exhibition in Moscow by showing shiny plastic consumer goods and appliances and a dazzling video display. 9. In the Soviet planned economy being able to buy staff requires similar skills (and middlemen)\u00a0as being…<\/p>\n

Continue readingTen things I learned from ‘Red Plenty’<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[204,276,385,478,519,547,616],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7g3hj-7W","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":257,"url":"http:\/\/re-design.dimiter.eu\/?p=257","url_meta":{"origin":492,"position":0},"title":"Climate science wars: The Lysenko move","date":"January 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has published a letter entitled 'No need to panic about global warming' which opines that \"There is no compelling scientific argument for drastic action to \"decarbonize\" the world's economy\" and \"Alarmism also offers an excuse for governments to raise taxes, taxpayer-funded subsidies for businesses that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Environmental policy"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88,"url":"http:\/\/re-design.dimiter.eu\/?p=88","url_meta":{"origin":492,"position":1},"title":"Concentration of control in the global economy","date":"October 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"All\u00a0conspiracy theorists know that the global economy is concentrated in the hands of a few. 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