Left Behind: How Privatization Disenfranchises the Poor and Endangers Democracies

Public services are dividing countries instead of uniting them.

I remember how I loved the old British Rail, well, I just liked trains, I guess, and train bridges. There was a lovely enchantment to the old British Rail. I also loved the London Underground. Public utilities were a service to the citizens because we deserved it, we were valued, but now a person's only worth is his money.

In Democracies Are Fighting for Their Lives, Joergen Oerstroem Moeller described how democracies are under pressure. The following article is an analysis of how he came to that conclusion. 

Public services used to serve a double purpose. The first one was to deliver electricity, water, transport, postal services, etc. These services could in principle be offered by the private sector, but that option was rejected in favor of uniform quality of services nationwide. Public services aimed to establish that all citizens were equal, connoting that national solidarity overruled a business model. Keeping the nation together legitimized that citizens in big cities paid more than the cost price and by doing so subsidized the periphery. On average, they were richer than their fellow compatriots, so it amounted to progressive taxation.

The National Interest

Left Behind: How Privatization Disenfranchises the Poor and Endangers Democracies