In the 80's, some western governments did that. People were unhappy but those economies did great. Eg. UK (Thatcher), and New Zealand (Rob Muldoon). Some of these businesses were just weird to be government owned - like a print shop.

Some businesses are best owned by government and some privately. It's not just a blanket good thing that governments should ratchet their way towards communism. Natural monopolies and public goods can be better owned by government because the private sector needs competition to be efficient.