Why can't the government always ensure prosperity and avoid recessions and depressions entirely? Why can't the government always ensure prosperity and avoid recessions and depressions entirely? Governments manipulate boom and bust cycles to ensure political control. Capitalist economies cannot be controlled by the government. Recessions are created by those outside the government to precipitate a change in leadership. Capitalist economies must have regular recessions to keep wages and prices in check. Capitalist economies normally have times of expansion and contraction known as the business cycle