| Biotechnology without Lysenko | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 9 2011, 12:50 PM (186 Views) | |
The Moon Man
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Jun 9 2011, 12:50 PM Post #1 |
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A cacophone of meaningless "Anime Right" horseshit
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Presume if you will that Lysenko ends up in the gulag because of supporting the wrong guy in the post-lenin succession struggle. What happens with biotech research without Lysenko's dead hand leading the communist bloc down the wrong path for several decades? Consider that the area we're talking about contains pre-1990s eastern europe, the USSR, China and North Korea. Given how the USSR managed to run a decent space program, and was able to keep at least near parity with the US's military for several decades, I think there's room for... improvement in soviet biotechnology. One obvious consequence I can think of is a USSR that'd be more able to feed itself in the 70s and 80s than ours did. Would removing Lysenko's errors from the equation translate into improved biotech over OTL by 2010? |
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Photovoltaic Array
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Jun 9 2011, 01:31 PM Post #2 |
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Second Dubs
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Firstly, making sure the USSR is able to feed itself (and its satellites) will work away a LOT of discontent. While Soviet decline is likely unstoppable, having food security alone makes a communist bloc in Europe likely stand to this day. You mentioned how the USSR was admirably decent in many fields otherwise; due to Stalin's insistence on collectivization and Lysenkoism he pretty much destroyed Soviet agriculture. But given how they made use out of marginal land in the decades following Stalin's death to stave off the inevitable from happening right away it would be interesting to see what they would have done with competent leadership. For the topic itself? I don't know for certainty. At least somewhat more advanced: the Soviets never struck me as being bound much by Western modes of thought and more resources and human capital for biotech always makes a difference. Russia has made huge strides OTL already in many fields since the Soviet collapse, so I think we could have a far more advanced world today with external superpower competition AND proper scientific guidelines. |
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The Moon Man
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Jun 9 2011, 01:34 PM Post #3 |
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A cacophone of meaningless "Anime Right" horseshit
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Improving food security for the communist bloc has more impacts outside of the USSR/eastern europe. Imagine a more robust north Korea able to aford the bomb. Or for that matter a China with 250 million more people than OTL and healthier birthrates(1.8 instead of 1.5)/no female infanticide problem A healthier commie bloc probably means Yugoslavia is still standing and the nationalists never get much traction. Perhaps, yugoslavia continues it's liberalization and by now is a left-leaning social democracy in the best case or something along the lines of PRI Mexico. |
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Photovoltaic Array
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Jun 9 2011, 01:38 PM Post #4 |
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Second Dubs
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Wasn't China doing it's one-child policy by then anyway? I think the factors that led to its current OTL situation would be even more stark here with more food security and somewhat more prosperity a bit earlier. I suspect Cold War tensions would break down further as things liberalize gradually. A healthier communist bloc doing hard science reminds me of all of those old sci-fi scenarios with a surviving USSR and even Robert Quigley who thought the USA and USSR would gradually resemble each other more as time goes on. |
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The Moon Man
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Jun 9 2011, 01:48 PM Post #5 |
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A cacophone of meaningless "Anime Right" horseshit
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China's one-child policy dates to 1979. The POD is in the 1920s. A China less worried about feeding itself wouldn't do the drastic measures to cut population growth that they did in OTL so birthrates would decline due to economic reform-related prosperity. China's birthrates would fall in step with the rest of east asia instead of being a faster and sharper drop. I do agree re: cold war tensions slowly breaking down. After the stagnation of the 70s and 80s, followed by the economic disaster/unrest of the 1990s(am presuming the food security enables a decade more of stability), the USSR would look like less of a threat. The empire in eastern Europe would probably unwind as OTL, but slower and later. I could see a USSR wanting to reduce it's security burden during the 80s stagnation or the 90s "time of troubles" opting to allow economic and political reform in eastern europe. Don't think OTL's soviet withdrawel. Think the USSR letting them reform their economy and level of police state control to merely yugoslav levels. |
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