Profit drives decisions in a market economy. The capitalist model in the US contains the most market freedom. Individual freedom is the backbone of the market economy. Every person is able to freely spend or save their income as they wish. .
Under Stalin the Soviet economy was entirely centralized and dictated from the government bureaucracy. Up until the fall of the Soviet Union the government continued to follow his model of state ownership of the means of production, and centrally planned production and distribution. The Soviets functioned under state socialism, which is a form of a centrally planned command economy. Their form of command economy succeeded on many levels. Without any restraint they were able to pour money and resources into specific sectors of the economy and make significant production advances in these targeted sectors. For example, as a result of WWII the Soviet Union demonstrated its strength by defeating the German attacks and maintaining the momentum in order to emerging as a world power. It is after the war that the Soviet success has best been displayed, the years of development of their military in order to compete with the US during the Cold War, has demonstrated the effectiveness of the command economy. Holzmann, Gerard (1994). However, the countless negative aspects of state socialism counteract these positive aspects. Although, many sectors of the economy saw rapid advancements many other sectors were allowed to depreciate and become under developed.
Under state socialism the economy is subject to rigid control from a central planning agency. After WWII the Soviet Union experienced an economic boom unitl the 1950's as a result of this control. This boom can be completely credited to the centralized planning of the government that created it. However, the government also had neglect local conditions, especially when production goals become overly important.
