This July 4, Show Your Patriotism by Automating Your Manual Processes

Because in Communist Russia, it took 10 people to change a lightbulb

OK, so 10 people to change a lightbulb might be a slight exaggeration, but it’s very much true that the Soviet Union was so committed to eradicating unemployment that it stifled technological innovation in favor of keeping the entire population working. Even if that meant doing jobs they really didn’t want – or need – to be doing.  

This year, to celebrate Independence Day, we wanted to take a moment to remind you that in the USA, unlike communist nations, modern technology enhances human performance and leads to better business outcomes. It also creates happier employees with more time to do the parts of their jobs that matter most, and (equally important) more leisure time.

If you’ve never thought about how the idea of innovation and automation are central to American identity, we hope this article provides you with some food for thought. 

Sidenote: If your July 4th food of choice happens to be a hot dog, you can also check out our article from National Hot Dog Day that explains how insurance compliance is like America’s guilty food pleasure. 

America’s drive for industrial efficiency 

Doing things bigger, better, and faster is baked into American culture, so much so that we often take it for granted. From the early days of the Industrial Revolution, we’ve pioneered technologies that enhance production capabilities.  

The introduction of assembly line techniques by Henry Ford, for example, revolutionized manufacturing processes by boosting productivity and reducing costs. This innovation didn’t just transform the automotive industry; it set a precedent for modern production methods across various sectors.

Stories of American culture and economic success often celebrate the idea that technology and automation free workers from the tedium of manual labor, improving their quality of life and providing more leisure time. This belief is a fundamental part of the American Dream, suggesting that technological progress, combined with hard work, leads to a happier and more satisfying life.  

Both the U.S. government and the private sector have historically backed up the philosophy that doing things more efficiently is better for everyone by supporting technological research and development. Public and private initiatives that foster innovation underscore a national ethos that sees technological advancement as a key driver of economic growth, national security, and social well-being.

The result? Everything from the internet to the iPhone to space travel, along with countless other examples of American-made tech that we use to make everyday life more convenient and enjoyable. God bless America, right? 

The Soviet Model: employment over efficiency

In contrast to the U.S., where innovation’s been baked into the national ethos since our earliest days, the Soviet Union often resisted technological advancements that’d increase productivity. The root of this philosophy was the belief that working was both every citizen’s right and duty. Therefore, any technology that might displace a human worker was seen in an unfavorable light.  

Starting in 1930, the Soviet Union’s official position was that unemployment had been eradicated. While this likely isn’t completely true, what is true is that the Soviet Union’s gross national product (GNP) grew only thanks to a large increase in labor force participation rather than any increase in per-worker productivity. That is, instead of the state prospering because workers became more productive, any uptick in the Soviet Union’s GNP was because its workforce consisted of nearly a hundred percent of people aged 16 and up. 

Sidenote: It’s also difficult to find reliable statistics from the Soviet Era because the official government’s position was that the state was always doing fantastic. Whether in terms of productivity, worker satisfaction, pay rates, quality of life, or other measures, anything indicating that the Soviet Union wasn’t performing on par (or better) than western capitalist societies was censored. Still, historical accounts show, in an attempt to keep the entire population employed, the Soviet government would create and foster inefficiencies that could have easily been removed. 

This priority for a fully employed society influenced many aspects of Soviet economic planning and policy, including their cautious approach to technological automation. The Soviet regime often prioritized employment over technological efficiency, reflecting a broader ideological commitment to maintaining full employment at all costs.

This strategy, while preventing large-scale unemployment, sometimes resulted in less efficient industrial practices compared to western economies, where technological innovation and automation were pursued more aggressively. The cautious implementation of automation in the Soviet Union often came at the expense of economic efficiency and growth. Despite the inefficiencies baked into the system, the sheer number of workers across the Soviet Union contributed to the outward appearance of economic growth and prosperity.

Rapid Soviet industrialization through World War II 

In contrast to later attempts to preserve full employment through resisting innovation, the Soviet Union was actually on a path toward rapid modernization in its early years. This is because the country had to transform itself from a primarily agricultural society to one that could guarantee its economic independence from capitalist countries by producing what it needed to survive and defend itself. Simply put, it was no problem to keep all citizens employed during the Soviet Union’s own industrial revolution. 

During World War II, the Soviet Union proved to be industrially superior to Nazi Germany, outproducing it across nearly every major wartime output. However, as time went on, the Soviet Union’s economy began to stagnate.  

Czechoslovakia as a prime example of Soviet inefficiency 

Czechoslovakia was under Soviet control from 1948 to 1989. And, thanks to its prior status as an established industrial leader, Czechoslovakia became a powerhouse of Soviet industry. Still, it fell behind western nations (including the U.S.) due to older and less efficient machinery and processes, among other things. 

While the U.S. and other western countries were automating at breakneck speed during the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, leading to a dramatic increase in per capita gross domestic product (GDP) – from around $3,000 in 1960 to around $23,000 in 1989 – Czechoslovakia experienced much more modest growth  – from about $8,000 in 1960 to $13,500 in 1990. 

“Czechoslovakia has a highly developed, industrialized economy that is tightly linked with the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries. However, the economy is characterized by low growth, low technological sophistication, and structural imbalances caused by inappropriate investment decisions.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12177920/

Despite being an advanced, industrialized nation, Soviet control still caused Czechoslovakia’s economy to stagnate in favor of keeping inefficient practices to employ more workers than necessary. 

Automate for America!

This comparison between ‌U.S. and Soviet industrial practices shows that automating processes to improve the lives of workers and the prosperity of the nation is as American as apple pie. 

If you work in the insurance industry, you might be feeling some sympathy for the Soviet factory workers of ages gone by who were forced to do things in an obviously inefficient manner because the government refused to invest in technology. 

Luckily, this is America, not the USSR. Your organization has the freedom to choose to do things better with technologically enabled tools and best practices. So, this Independence Day, celebrate uniquely American values like innovation and scientific advancement by replacing outdated systems with cutting-edge insurance technology. 

If you’re tired of manual labor and repetitive, error-prone tasks in your insurance compliance workflows, see how AgentSync can make them a thing of the past. Request a demo today.