It is like miles away from the intentional economical engineering we are talking about. Still not sure why you are so bent on trying to wiggle them into a comparsion between regimes and personnel more direct, intentional and immediate like Mao or Stalin.
If you dont distinguish from those, then why even have a debate on them?
The joke implied that the question intended to ask one or very few directly involved personnel and you disregarded that. Thats it.