There could be a different meaning here, which is to do with thought. It's about thinking of a country, or a town or whatever, as a 'machine' rather than a community, with every part existing to help the machine work. As long as the part performs that task, it is useful and deserves to exist; if not it must be replaced or improved. People are not involved, only parts.
This is really what facism is all about. Of course, a degree of 'machineness' in society is necessary, but it can get out of hand and dominate.
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