The most prosperous places in the world have been those that are most politically restrained & economically free. When political power grows it necessarily destroys economic freedom & as a result whatever prosperity there may have been begins to crumble. Countries that have built up lots of economic capital can drag on feeding political parasites for decades, but eventually the parasites think they can get away with anything, & then everything collapses.
Western countires are approaching that final stage now. The record of history is crystal clear on this issue. The govt is the only entity left in places like Cuba & Venezuela & so many others because power hungry politicians sought to "fix" every problem via theft & force & coercion. And people like you go along with it because you don't want to have to do anything yourself, you want to vote problems away at the expense of everyone else. It's a deep cultural problem that grows from the top down & bottom up at the same time.
This covers the issue pretty well