You drew the same conclusions I did. The Soviet system is the best example of what happens when the measurement becomes the metric - it produces all sorts of u

You drew the same conclusions I did. The Soviet system is the best example of what happens when the measurement becomes the metric - it produces all sorts of unintended effects, trains of freight being moved hundreds of miles to fulfill a ton-mile quota, ignoring what functionaries in the aparat say, because they dont fit the measurement-metric, etc. Like you, I don't believe that mass starvation was the point, but it did have the effect of temporarily tamping down nationalism too. I also found https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007CJLZKQ/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007CJLZKQ/ quite interesting, as to how it painted stalinist society, and gave me a clearer understanding. I'm eagerly looking forward to the final part of the biography on stalin.