C4SS Feed 44 presents “Two Words on Privatization” from the book Markets Not Capitalism, written by Charles Johnson, read by Stephanie Murphy and edited by Nick Ford. There is something called privatization which has been a hot topic in Leftist circles for the past 15-20 years. It has been a big deal in Eastern Europe, in third world countries…

C4SS Feed 44 presents “A Plea for Public Property” from the book Markets Not Capitalism, written by Roderick T. Long, read by Stephanie Murphy and edited by Nick Ford. For many libertarians, the most important argument for private property is what Garret Hardin has labeled “the tragedy of the commons” (though the basic idea goes back to Aristotle). Most…

In a comment on last week’s post on The Labor Politics of Prisons, Steve Robinson said that my discussion of guards unions was “interesting given past posts about the for-profit prison industry.” He noted that while prison guard unions push for increased incarceration, they also are generally harmed by prison privatization, as private prison contractors have incentives to…

On the November 10 episode of the Stossel Show, libertarian commentator John Stossel had an exchange with anarcho-capitalist writer David Friedman on the possibility of “privatizing everything” (i.e. all government functions). When they got to military functions, their discussion shed considerable light on what “privatization” means to a lot of the libertarian Right. “Much of…

Se há coisa que o establishment libertário — isto é, organizações libertárias da corrente majoritária cuja principal atividade é fazer lobby junto ao estado em favor de “reforma de livre mercado” — adora, é a assim chamada “privatização.” Artigo de Paul Buchheit em Truth-out.com (“Oito Maneiras pelas Quais a Privatização Não Deu o que os…

If there’s one thing the libertarian establishment — that is, mainstream libertarian organizations whose main activity is lobbying the state for “free market reform” — loves, it’s so-called “privatization.” An article by Paul Buchheit at Truth-out.com (“Eight Ways Privatization has Failed America,” Aug. 5) treats the failure of privatization as a reflection on the limits…

Knapp: “Privatization” is one of those Humpty Dumpty words that means just what the political class chooses it to mean, neither more nor less.

The conversation on prison profiteering and the American state’s slave trade hits the radio!

When “progressive” Democrats profit from caging and abusing immigrants, the poor, people of color, transgender women, and LGBT youth, it’s time to leave the party.

An all-private system can be oppressive, just as an all-public one can be.

The latest Cato Unbound features my essay “From State to Society” on “privatization.”

Sometimes “privatization” means more government power, not less.

Thomas L. Knapp juxtaposes the sham privatization currently practiced with real privatization.

Nicholas Hildyard, writing for The Corner House (March 1998), pointed out the phony nature of most of what passes for “privatization” under neoliberalism: While the privatisation of state industries and assets has certainly cut down the direct involvement of the state in the production and distribution of many goods and services, the process has been…