politics

i kinda like the communist idea of sending young elites to work in the fields

i hadn't heard of this so i just read more about it - this was mostly just something Mao enacted (Stalin to a lesser degree), not necessarily a fundamental of communism - but labor solidarity is important to me, and this sounds like a well meaning notion for breaking down class barriers and preventing elites from living their whole life disillusioned with soft hands. those people make shitty rulers when they grow up.

like a lot of Mao's work, i think it comes from a noble and intelligent place and it deserves consideration, albeit poorly implemented and maybe not great for the principles of a free society.

id also point to the Israeli/Korean (and others) tradition of conscripting all youth to several years of military service, it's similarly a good idea for building unity among a people (but also nationalism, which i don't think of as a positive).