I really believe that for someone to think big government is a good idea they must be at some level completely disbelieving when it comes to any practical knowledge of complex systems they may have, and not just being ignorant (though that is probably the case much of the time).
I’ve, for instance, addressed how pilot programs (small, organizationally more flexible, often with motivated and competent staff) create an illusion of expected success that does not often translate over to the bloated bureaucratic efforts they help spawn.
Some years back in a Transformers fan-fiction I took advantage of the story to address this:
Then a second similar ship came down. Another Autobot/Seeker emerged and began talking with four other Seekers who had come down from another observation lounge. One of these introduced himself to Magnus, Datadraw and Cobatron as Alphadriver – their loadmaster for the rest of the cycle.
If anything, Alphadriver was even more demanding than Trickshot had been. With good reason too: four autoloaders were now competing for the same small cargo bay doors with odds and ends easily as dangerous as before. Predictably, loading was finished a lot quicker.
“Magnus, I’ve reviewed your answer to Professor Nine’s question,” Battletech began as he helped to inspect the cargo, “what do you think about things now?”
“The autoloaders are still operating below their capacity but the limit seems to be imposed by multiple teams and limited door space.”
“So you think the autoloaders are over rated for the job?”
“No, Sir. Just that the cargo bay door is too small.”
“Good. That’s called a ‘logistical constriction’ ... the basic idea is that any given system has a limiting factor imposed by conditions which cannot be safely, economically or tactically overcome. We could run one or two autoloaders full out with a ship of this class. Add a third though and they all need to slow down to allow for safe access. A fourth slows everything individually down more, but not enough that actual loading isn’t faster than with three. Diminishing returns ... the harder you push – when you push really hard – doesn’t mean that the obstacle is going to move that much faster.”
“So dynamic systems aren’t like simple ones ... bigger or stronger isn’t always better. Dean Battletech, you said that this idea applies to tactical considerations too. Why?”
“Sometimes it’s just a matter of terrain which can only support so many troops and allow them all to be reasonably effective. More often it’s a matter of command and control. Have you seen or met Maximus?”
“The Supreme Commander? No, Sir.”
“Great and gallant hero, brilliant tactician, fine and wise individual ... but much too big! It takes so much just to get him to the battlefield that the fighting is done by the time he can deploy. Some idiot’s brilliant idea that more is always better has condemned him to never actually get in the big fight. Even worse, he’s never even set foot on Cybertron and probably never will while he’s alive. On the other hand, his size and no expense spared specs enabled him to be equipped as if he were Primus himself, easing the command and control constrictions even if he’s his own tactical foil.”
“Dean Battletech, why is it so hard to get him to a battlefield?”
“It isn’t. Besides the Nemesis he has two more transport battleships available just for that purpose; however, he’s a victim of his own power and value. So long as Maximus holds himself in reserve an enemy has to keep forces in reserve to counter his potential appearance – usually Guardian Autobots by the dozens all scattered about. They also have to hold onto enough big artillery to try to shoot him down on the way in. So being there but not fighting actually takes some of the most valuable assets for the other side off the board. On the other hand, he and those battleships represent such a threat that every other target will be ignored once they come in range ... and loosing Maximus and his more subtle capabilities for even a short while would be a devastating blow. Simply put, even Cybertron can’t afford to replace him ... at least not without hardship that may be unacceptable.”