You mean somehow applying resources even less efficiently than soviet economic planners? Is that even possible? I bet if the USA had tried such a tactic all th

You mean somehow applying resources even less efficiently than soviet economic planners? Is that even possible? I bet if the USA had tried such a tactic all that would have happened is a more efficient allocation. Imagine the covert spy economists giving a policy 'recommendation' talk. "We should take all the grain a farmer grows over a certain threshold. Thus the farmer will not be blinded by greed and will work hard to increase production for the good of the people. And just to be sure that said farmers have stately love in their hearts, let us cause a great famine in our bread bowl." would say the American spys as they outlay their plan to ruin the Soviet Union. The soviet economists upon hearing their own plans recited word for word would realise how brilliant said plan was not. They would then roll a D20 and come up with a marginal better plan.