"Or do we want people who are better at allocating money to things that advance the species in general to have more ability to do more of that"
I disagree, I don't think most entrepreneurs invest to advance the species in general, from my point of view they invest in things that have a potential to make money, while the government has a better incentive to fund something useful but with less direct financial benefits.
But of course you can give a lot of counter-examples.
You're right to bounce on the "advance the species" part, however I think one way to see it is to keep in mind that governments generally act in the interests of pressure groups, are inefficient and take decisions based on ideology more than merit.
All western governments, with some rare exceptions, are highly indebted. Those debts were just created to keep the machine running, not to make investments.
One could therefore say that governments destroyed wealth and contributed to an excessive growth of a financial economy through loans.
An individual taking the same course of action would end up being bankrupt and would not take millions of persons with him in the process.
I disagree, I don't think most entrepreneurs invest to advance the species in general, from my point of view they invest in things that have a potential to make money, while the government has a better incentive to fund something useful but with less direct financial benefits. But of course you can give a lot of counter-examples.