When watching the TV Series The Handmaid Tales I kept thinking that things like their very heavy security appartus, military for the continuing seccession war and heavy use of dedicated manpower doing manual work in house chores (at least for the upper classes) would use too much manpower, taking it away from actual productive activities and thus making a modern nation level of life (in the material sense, not other senses) unsustainable, though Gilead could sorta keep going for a while drawing down on the wealth of the part of the US from were it was formed, before falling down to mid-XX century South American levels of wealth or worse.

However temporary slavery like this "national duty field work" might actually "solve" some of the agricultural production manpower shortage problems in such a society.

So it actually makes sense (in a sick way) that it's appealing to the most extreme Fascist amongst the Republicans.