---
title: "6 Soviet Economy Quotes by 6 authors"
description: "Browse 6 Soviet Economy quotes by 6 authors. Discover the best Soviet Economy sayings and thoughts."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/paul-samuelson-9078_command_contrary-to-what-many-skeptics-had-earli_336000.png"
---

> [Contrary to what many skeptics had earlier believed, the Soviet economy is proof that a socialist command economy can function and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/contrary-to-what-many-skeptics-had-earlier-believed-the-soviet/)

[Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/paul-samuelson-9078_command_contrary-to-what-many-skeptics-had-earli_336000.png)

> [By the 1970s, Western sanctions had hollowed out the Soviet economy. Ultimately, however, what brought down the Soviets was their inability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-toole/by-the-1970s-western-sanctions-had-hollowed-out-the-soviet-economy/)

[Erin O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-toole/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/erin-o-toole-5981_1970s_by-the-1970s-western-sanctions-had-hollo_417254.jpg)

> [“A confidential report delivered in June 1965 by Abel Aganbegyan, director of the Novobirsk Institute of Economics, highlighted the difficulties. Aganbegyan noted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hosking/a-confidential-report-delivered-in-june-1965-by-abel-aganbegyan/)

[Geoffrey Hosking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hosking/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/geoffrey-hosking-159654_central-economy_a-confidential-report-delivered-in-june_778144.jpg)

> [The Communist bloc of old was a study in the failure of failure. Losers in the Soviet economy were the people at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-communist-bloc-of-old-was-a-study-in-the-failure-of-failure/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/393/p-j-o-rourke-184_communist_the-communist-bloc-of-old-was-a-study-in_1386017.png)

> [During the 1930s, some of the leading intellectuals in America condemned our economic system and pointed to the centrally planned Soviet economy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/during-the-1930s-some-of-the-leading-intellectuals-in-america/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/408/thomas-sowell-247_1930s_during-the-1930s-some-of-the-leading-int_2218287.jpg)

> [In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state's role absolute. In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/in-the-20th-century-the-soviet-union-made-the-state-s-role-absolute/)

[Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/vladimir-putin-261_20th-century_in-the-20th-century-the-soviet-union-mad_3212928.jpg)

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                        "text": "“A confidential report delivered in June 1965 by Abel Aganbegyan, director of the Novobirsk Institute of Economics, highlighted the difficulties. Aganbegyan noted that the growth rate of the Soviet economy was beginning to decline, just as the rival US economy seemed particularly buoyant; at the same time, some sectors of the Soviet economy - housing, agriculture, services, retail trade - remained very backward, and were failing to develop at an adequate rate. The root causes of this poor performance he saw in the enormous commitment of resources to defense (in human terms, 30-40 million people out of a working population of 100 million, he reckoned), and the 'extreme centralism and lack of democracy in economic matters' which had survived from the past. In a complex modern society, he argued, not everything could be planned, since it was impossible to foresee all possible contingencies and their potential effects. So the plan amounted to central command, and even that could not be properly implemented for lack of information and of modern data-processing equipment. 'The Central Statistical Administration ... does not have a single computer, and is not planning to acquire any,' he commented acidly. Economic administration was also impeded by excessive secrecy: 'We obtain many figures... from American journals sooner than they are released by the Central Statistical Administration.' Hence the economy suffered from inbuilt distortions: the hoarding of goods and labour to provide for unforeseen contingencies, the production of shoddy goods to fulfill planning targets expressed in crude quantitative terms, the accumulation of unused money by a public reluctant to buy substandard products, with resultant inflation and a flourishing black market.”",
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                        "text": "The Communist bloc of old was a study in the failure of failure. Losers in the Soviet economy were the people at the end of the long lines for consumer goods. Worse losers were the people who had spent hours getting to the head of the line, only to be told that the goods were unavailable.",
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