it used to be said that the data requirements for central planning were just too huge to manage. I don't think that's true anymore.
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I believe we've now reached the point where data storage capacity and processing power is robust enough to handle central planning on a barely imagined scale.
However, the computer power is quite useless to us at our current level of organizational skill. There's a lot that can be said and written about this but I'll trim it down to a few paragraphs: very few people really understand what computers are for, what they're good at and what they can't do. It's all still too new.
Into the knowledge gap flows marketing hype about "autonomous computing", fully realized AI and other glittering mis-directs.
On the supply side, speaking strictly about IT, Wal-Mart's true genius is to recognize what's bullshit and what's real and use the real capabilities of the software/hardware to the utmost. They've created a closed universe where organizational and machine maximization are possible because the mission scope is very limited -- profit via cost cutting.
A modern state's planning requirements would be wildly complex and require a dedication to flexible efficiency, intelligent data stream analysis and operational excellence among other elements.
These are the things we don't do very well on the whole so even if mythical, "Star Trek" level computing power was available we'd still -- more or less -- be banging our heads against various perception-limiting walls.
.d.