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Originally Posted by Haech
Well there are some econometric data that indicates that privatization worked for liberal economies like Hong Kong and Singapore and the South American Miracles. I can't recall the exact source, but several minutes on wikipedia should do the trick. I'm as liberal inclined as the next person, but there are justifications for privatizing and using markets as tools. This view is well articulated by the works of Milton Friedman.
The problem is when privatization is taken to excess. I hate to frame things like a class struggle because that isn't what economics is about, so lets just say privatization as a mechanic is favored by some political groups even when the justification isn't there. My hero, Krugman, has written tons about this. Google his critique of the life of Milton Friedman for an informative, not to mention fun, read.
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A good read on that subject is the works of Naomi Klein, "Disaster Capitalism" I think the title is. She shows "the other side of" Milton Friedman's work. I agree with you that some functions do well in corporate hands---like picking up trash and garbage. . . The problem of "Big Government" is as bad as "Big Business." Government is wasteful and overlapping, and business is aimed at profits at the expense of all else. I think what works best is government regulation---if business is not allowed to lobby Congress and the regulators themselves!.
