The age of strong trade unions, nationalization, and the state playing a significant role in providing social services and benefits to its citizens delivered the greatest improvement in living standards in history.
The rise of the “free market” arrived with promises to unleash endless prosperity, but after some point it might not be the most optimal economic strategy (The Guardian).
It is definitely possible to create a really democratic country with strong governmental sector (see Norway, Sweden) but even countries who pay a heavy price for the stronger hand of the government (Russia and maybe China to some extent) seem performing way better than a true libertarian would predict.