> they keep detailed records of your performance in school from kindergarten and a comprehensive dossier

this also means you want your record pristine. And it is also why officials cover up problems rather than report it up.

But their current success to out-maneuver the US in terms of trade, as well as capacity, is testament to perhaps the success of such a system. I do recall there was a massive purge on corruption over the past decade(s), which is probably helped a lot. This did not happen in soviet russia.