The weakest link is the actual application of a discovery in real life. Brilliant scientists can be apolitical and so isolated from the rest of the society tha

The weakest link is the actual application of a discovery in real life. Brilliant scientists can be apolitical and so isolated from the rest of the society that they don't even realize what's going on. Notably, the Soviet Union produced a lot of excellent results in mathematics and physics. But when it comes to designing and selling actual products based on the theoretical discoveries, the inefficiency, stupidity and mendacity inherent in the authoritarian systems really comes to the fore and can't be dodged.