Privatization Wars

'Rolling back the boundaries of the State.' 'Too important for governments.' 'Best left to private initiative.' These are all catch phrases du jour, indeed de la decade. Nagged by such a seductive and generally unchallenged philosophy, governments across the world are pulling out of transport, water supply and electricity. Plans are afoot, indeed apace, to privatize education and welfare. In some areas, private security forces are taking over from the police. Even imprisonment, one of the