Was passiert, wenn offentliche Guter privatisiert werden?

In: Peripherie: Politik, Ökonomie, Kultur, Band 23, Heft 90-91, S. 171-201

Abstract

The privatization of public goods is a dominant strategy all across the world, pushed by international institutions, backed by neoliberal political concepts & propagated by economic actors, such as transnational corporations or institutional investors. Privatization is the other side of the globalization & liberalization of markets, facilitated by the regulation of property rights (TRIPS & GATS) & new technologies. The question, however, is whether the privatization of public goods is economically efficient, socially just & politically fostering the participation of peoples & the democratization of societies, & above all how the human security of peoples is affected. Primarily, questions the concept of human (versus commercial) security has to be discussed, ie, the norm defining whether a public good really is "good." In many cases it is not good for all, but only for a few peoples. Thus public goods, especially the commons, do not only involve dilemmas (such as the "tragedy of the commons"), but also social contradictions. A good for some people can be "a bad" for others. The distinction between local, regional, & global public goods only makes sense on the "demand" or consumption-side of public goods, ie, for users. With respect to their provision even local public goods, such as communal infrastructures, are the target of globally operating investors, eg, via cross border leasing of local infrastructures. There is not only one form of privatization, but there are many (from the privatization of public firms to the "feminization" of social services & the commercialization of public security), & for that reason it is difficult to get a comprehensive overview on the privatization of public goods in different parts of the world. 36 References. Adapted from the source document.