alt Hacker NewsThat is a simplistic and naive POV.
Yes, the state can allocate X engineers to do Y.
But a complex system requires Z engineers to design subsystem 1, and repeat 100x.
And engineers for sub-subsystems.
And specialists for allocating resources reliably.
And mass shipping systems for transporting those resources efficiently (remember, this is a country that STILL doesn't have palletized supply chains!).
Unlike defeating the Third Reich, it is not a problem that can be solved by merely throwing more bodies at it.
I don't disagree with that, but that's not what was discussed. The person I was replying to was asserting that the Soviet union couldn't have developed semiconductors because unlike the US, it didn't have "a vast civilian customer base that let it recoup R&D expenses". My argument is that "recouping" anything doesn't matter in a planned economy.