Employment Controls as Authoritarian Tool

States can subtly curtail citizens' economic freedom not only by nationalizing assets but by regulating access to employment — for example, mandating hires go through government exchanges or prosecuting firms that bypass labor controls. Those administrative levers are less visible than ownership but can lock people into state‑directed economic roles and reshape civic autonomy. — Naming and tracking these administrative levers shifts the debate from abstract 'planning vs. markets' to concrete tools that threaten or enable freedom depending on their design and oversight.