- USSR actually worked somehow between 1917 and 1991. of course it was a monstrous thing, but it worked somehow and it actually turned a peasant rural country into a technological superpower.
1. It worked because the politburo had access the the Sears Catalog. Without it, they would have no idea where to set prices. see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_calculation_problem2. It worked because Stalin backed off his land reforms in time to keep the famines from killing everybody.
3. It worked because the black market was tolerated.
4. it became a technological superpoer because the technology/military complex was the only industry group that faced competition (with the West). Competition is good. It makes you stronger.
5. it worked because of Western aid- to fight Hitler, expatriates in Western countries sending remittances home to family members, humanitarian and technological exchanges, etc.
6. Ultimately, it didn't work.