You are missing the plot completely if you think the USSR failed because of a lack of computing power. The incentives at every level of the communist system we

You are missing the plot completely if you think the USSR failed because of a lack of computing power. The incentives at every level of the communist system were misaligned. It was all about loyalty, not embarrassing the higher-ups, and not rocking the boat. Working too hard, or pointing out a flaw in the system that embarrassed your boss, were horrible things to do in the USSR. That's why there were shortages of even basic items like bread, where the supply was easy to predict. It's why a lot of things that got built, got built extremely poorly, like cars. And eventually, it's why Chernobyl happened, as well as many other nuclear disasters you never heard about in the Urals.