For me, the bigger issue was that while I could understand the first generation needing to do something like that, I couldn't understand how it kept on happening. If there's a society that is willing to accept that you need to die if your number is drawn, then why not reverse it and have something like a Birthright Lottery (like in Niven's Known Space). I would expect that it would be a lot easier to sell that then institutionalized murder to maintain zero population growth.
I'm ashamed of myself for not thinking of that as well. Part 2 of Canterbury Hollow can detail the pending citizen's uprising and government overthrow due to their sadistic statutes.
Sometimes people in companies get promoted to manager spots but hoard more of their prior duties than they should so that they can retain that power. They don't realize that the retention of menial tasks and inability to foster those abilities in the people they manage makes them poor managers and really a liability to the company.
The Macro version of that is when governments leave meaningless legislation in place just for the sake of retaining the power and then finding new ways to exploit that power. In the US we see that in the Patriot Act and in our more-layers-of-police-than-you-can-count system that uses many organizations (FBI, DEA, ATF, Homeland Security, US Marshalls, State Police, Local Police, Constables, Sherriffs, National Guard, Secret Service, etc.) what you could do more effectively for a fraction of the price with two (Local Police, FBI).
Those in power know that asking for something once is easier than having to ask again regularly, so if you actually pulled off something like a death lottery, you would ABSOLUTELY continue it and breed more subservience into your population. Maybe in better years, you pull fewer people's numbers, but you always reserve the power. If you can, you also find a way to turn it into a spectacle that the population participates in (a la
Hunger Games) so that they can feel invested. It's Societal Brainwashing 101.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to sew a new chin strap on my foil hat.