Yes, it was called the Soviet Union....

Stephen Spruiell:

"The thinking implicit in rants like these is that the government ought to order consumer preferences based on what smart academics, altruistic activists, and serious environmentalists think people need. Consumers, of all people, can’t be trusted to decide for themselves. Ironically, this is the philosophy that brought us the Cash for Clunkers program, which induced consumers to buy something they really didn’t need: new cars, when their old ones were running just fine."