Obamacare and the NSA’s total surveillance dreams hit a bump for the same reasons. In both cases, the federal government chose to, or had to, work with private companies: private insurers in one case, contractors in the other.

We already knew, at least since the crash of the Soviet Union, that Leviathan cannot be efficient if it tries to run everything in-house. We should also have known that Leviathan can’t run things efficiently with employees and contractors who maintain some independence—who are part of the private sector. Leviathan and the private sector are irremediably at odds, even when they try to be cronies. There is always somebody who will not obey blindly.

One way or another, Leviathan cannot run things efficiently: conscripted labor will not be efficient; and non-conscripted labor will be difficult to manage.