The slogan of privatization is once again taking charge of political chanting among higher echelons of power. Political elite seems to fell for the same old argument of neo liberal gurus from international financial institutions that the root of all problems lies with loss making, inefficient and lethargic state owned enterprises, where corrupt and greedy public officials render these public institutions ineffective thus causing huge budget deficits. So the only viable solution to the prosperity and progress lies in the privatization of all loss making public institutions.
Mantra of privatization seems genuine at once and is emotionally more appeasing for public as compared to laborious structural overhaul of the governance machinery. De-regulating multiple over-employed institutions sounds bold and courageous but is not necessarily sustainable in the interests of unemployed many. Even leaders from developing countries are now aware of neo-imperial tools and their machinations for market controls.
Neo liberal policies of post-WW2 emphasized largely on the same narrative that democracy cannot flourish without free market capitalism necessitating minimized state owned regulatory barriers in the way of supply and demand. Economic bishops preached that market is able to regulate itself and some invisible thing will trickle down to lower class. During past century, Media and policy campaigns of free trade as a panacea for prosperity were so much influential that much of developing bloc obeyed it indifferently till they came to know that it was a political tool by the western allies to dominate developing markets by western brands and goods. However, this awareness could not help as by then they were heavily indebted and strangulated by policies of IMF; which ensured barrier free open markets, minimum social spending and austerity politics in developing policy circles. All this was implemented in the name of neo liberal directives to serve democratic ideals but not for the interests of big few as they put it.
Such type of market narrative caught impressive following till the uncontrolled capitalist greed started expressing symptoms of its disaster in the form of unequal wealth, climate rupture, poverty at its peak, exploitation of labor in developing countries and above all the elevated level of egoistic profitability. Politicians were dictated through campaign funding for the manifestation of capitalist-only interests. The nation states which didn’t let their financial sovereignty penetrated by capitalist giants were disparaged and demonized internationally.
Authoritarian capitalists wanted militarized police controls, profitable narratives of media, controlled perceptions of public, obedient minds of corporate culture, less creative education, monopoly on goods and controls on services. Today, they are successfully out of regulatory realm of any government largely floating above the national sovereignty and constitutional atmosphere of any nation state. To treat people as commodities and to rip off powers from governments around the world are current arenas of their novel competition; gradually eroding public trust in government as an agency of welfare and protection. Who made these giants uncontrollable is another bargain, nevertheless shortsighted and greedy politicians have their formidable role in the task. Now the globe is witnessing unfathomable manifestation of greed in the form of strict controls on people lives and freedom.
The concept of government is based on protection of individual rights and freedom via its institutions. Public officials in those institutions are bound to follow the commands of public power centers in the interest of citizens instead of profitability as singular abiding principle. What will happen when same officials would deny any order of government till their own profits are not aligned as happened during petrol shortage and sugar price hikes. Despite learning from these experiences, government Is determined to cut its own hands called state owned enterprises in other words minimizing government and regulatory space. Leaving all the realms of public welfare at the mercy of profitability and greed would be disastrous.
The argument that SOEs are making loss is true but seeing its only solution as privatization is perhaps due to the fact that this is an easy thing to do as a new experiment or may be those in power are made to see the situation in this way through perception management. There is another more sustainable path to solve this problem -which is although challenging but mandatory for effective governance- is to revive regulatory capacity over public institutions and to make each of their action more accountable than ever. Even If the path of accountability Is somehow avoided today it will be required again after privatization. In future political leaders may find themselves at fault when those privately owned institutions would never succumb to government pressures leaving public helpless just like the humiliating example of petrol shortage. Perhaps till that time incumbent politicians would find another slogan to appease public emotions but lower class citizenry would always be at loss from the ongoing experimentation with governance.
The writer can be reached at aliakbar_rai@yahoo.com
