[jungletime]

This brings to mind Elon Musk and his many failed rockets. Normally a rocket failure is so expensive it has the potential to bankrupt even a rich company. In a pure capitalistic system investors would not risk suck long term goals as going to Mars, when it involves many rocket failures, and no profits. But its in the national interest to push such research forward for the sake of humanity. So if state provides some welfare, or a cushion, to hedge such risky thing as building rockets, don't we all benefit. In a similar way to the way government grants pay for research at universities. Its obviously a balance.

I live in Canada, a huge country. Its not profitable for any company to provide power to remote places with only a few inhabitants. Its only possible because the government mandates it, and the rest of us subsided it.