Project Cybersyn - USSR

[Broz]

WI a viable system of direct cybernetic management, was applied to the planned economy of the 1970is USSR?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersyn something like this

 

[alt_historian]

... I have never heard of the Cybersyn project before. It seems like something out of a sci-fi movie!

"- and from this room, gentlemen, we control the economy of the entire nation!"

You say a viable system. By that, I assume you mean that it actually works... many on this board argue that planned economies, intrinsically, don't work. I think otherwise, but I'm not economically knowledgeable enough to actually argue the case.

Anyway,assuming the system can be made to work - I would assume with a much larger control room - then of course the USSR will not economically stagnate as OTL.

 

[xchen08]

"viable" is a relative term though, as is "work." Planned economies don't work, period. Many of the reasons why they don't work applies in full to a cybernetic management scheme up to and possibly including a Culture Mind. (I say possibly, because Culture Minds run on author fiat and may actually be gods) The main one being information gathering which is free and difficult to corrupt in a market economy, while extremely expensive and inherently corrupt in a planned economy. Garbage in, Garbage out, and a planned economy would find it nearly impossible to keep the garbage from coming in.

The easiest way to make it viable is for disaster to strike the West, devastating them enough to make this cybernetically planned system viable, at least for a while. Then again, the soviets would need to steal Western computer technology so...

 

[Jukra]

WI a viable system of direct cybernetic management, was applied to the planned economy of the 1970is USSR?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersyn something like this

I would so much like to have the control room pictured in Wiki article as a lounge, it looks so cool!

Maybe this kind of system would reduce some glitches but it ultimately won't cure the inherent motivation and honesty problems.

 

[Tobit]

I think by the time would be able to be developed and put into practice most of the Russian economy was based on a black market or simply pure corruption. I would imagine alot of local party bosses would receive the print-outs from a machine like that, read them and simply destroy them for "security reasons" while implementing their own policies.

Also a major part of the planned economy was constant, if nearly paralysing debate among among the party. If you could get everyone in Moscow to agree with the Cybersyn then you would still have to deal with the Comecon nations, who were quite set against perestroika as well.