Quite the opposite. Only around the modern era (20th century and onwards) have had the ability to take total or near total command of the economy. Throughout th

Quite the opposite. Only around the modern era (20th century and onwards) have had the ability to take total or near total command of the economy. Throughout the majority of history, states have only been able to tax and mobilize single digit percentages of the society's GDP. Historical estimates are rough, but good enough to appreciate the stark disparity between modern governments that often mobilize 25-50% of the society's GDP. It couldn't be further from the case that command economies are the default state. They're a relatively possibility in the scope of human civilization.