We do know that things get built because of a desire to ratify prestige. Things like Easter Island's moai are described as "mana-works", mana being a Polynesian

We do know that things get built because of a desire to ratify prestige. Things like Easter Island's moai are described as "mana-works", mana being a Polynesian word adopted by anthropologists to describe notions of abstract efficacy. It's worth reading about, though the concept has lost credibility in anthropology. But, essentially, the Autobahn network is similar to these megalithic works, built out of a collective and mostly consensual desire to demonstrate/affirm the efficacy of a certain social order. The connection I'm making with totalitarianism is intentional, with no value judgement attached to that (sometimes totalitarianism happens).