Leftists relentlessly criticize the profit motive, as somehow self seeking. What they fail to consider, because they are either stupid or cynically malignant, is that businesses also operate under what might be termed a loss motive, by which I mean that there is both a carrot and a stick in play: they want to make money, of course, but they equally do not want to LOSE money, which over some period of time can and will lead to bankruptcy.
State bureaucracies–governments in general–tend towards organizational bloat because the incentives in place are completely divorced from practical considerations. In practice, failure is not just common, but irrelevant to the long term success of the project. They are not punished by failure, nor are they rewarded for success. They are rewarded for political obedience, and rewarded with larger staffs, salaries, and a larger chunk of the taxpayers wealth.
There is no loss motive, and the profits made in no way imply altruism–on the contrary, naked greed for both money and power are plainly on display ubiquitously–nor the capacity to create anything that is of use to anyone.
Self evidently, some government is necessary, but government checked by the DEMAND on the part of taxpayers that it actually accomplish the aims for which it allegedly exists.