The parallel is quite simply a monopoly on ideas and the resources for implementing them.

Usually, when someone wants to introduce a new idea, there's a burden of proof regarding feasibility. For technical projects the ability of the engineer to prove or disprove an idea is taken for granted, and gives technical staff a degree of inscrutability which can often look dictatorial ("There's no way that will work!", etc).

So while it's not as vital as the effect of a 'real' political dictatorship, the implied dynamic is similar.