I think that's another dimension of the control. It'd be controversial to make a law saying "we're restricting how you repair your air condition", but if you instead said, "for your safety, you need to have a signed and stamped form B-6 to repair your air condition" you can achieve the same effect by creating layers of bumbling bureaucracy. Everybody is hostage to insane rules that obfuscate your control.

Anytime I am forced to navigate a maze of bureaucracy and/or paperwork, my mind goes to this movie. It seems more relevant with every passing day.

Try some of Kafka's work.

It seems a lot of literary dystopias have merged and manifested into our current reality. At this point I'm just waiting for someone harpoon at my car as I approach an onramp.