It depends on what one defines as the "Soviet Union". It was supposed to be that way, but inevitably people who just wanted power got into the system and the whole thing fell apart. Communism doesn't work unless everyone is doing it. That's the problem, altruism is not something that everyone can be expected to have: A large enough population ensures a few ruthless people will ruin it for everyone else. On paper, communism (not USSR style, but the kind where the state withers away) beats any other system, but it takes a population of demi-gods to get it to work. That's not to say that it's impossible. Wikipedia is just such a place- you don't get paid, but you edit it for the good of mankind. Sappy-sounding? Sure. It still works. The tech support right on this forum is another such example- doing it for the good of your fellows. In the end, the world will likely be a mix of communism and regulated capitalism because the internet offers so much freedom and power plants operate best under a capitalist model. Am I a socialist? Not really. The competitive, free market under effective regulation is very effective for consumer goods and large enterprises; however, things like encyclopedias and programming languages are not like that. Those operate best when there is no price, just altruistic effort to improve. Look at Python- totally free with a huge community that continually improves the software.
-Penguin