Privatization - a resource guide

The big picture...

_Neo-liberalism or Democracy? Economic strategy, markets and alternatives for the 21st century_, Arthur MacEwan, Zed Books, London, 2000. A dense, detailed but worthwhile introduction to the workings of the global economy and the democratic alternatives.

_Power Politics_, Arundhati Roy, South End Press, Boston, 2001. Written with clarity and passion, Indian novelist Roy attacks India’s corrupt politics and the rampages of the transnational energy industry.

_The Affluent Society_, John Kenneth Galbraith, Houghton Mifflin, New York, 1998. Written 40 years ago by one of America’s great liberal economists. Stately, often pedantic, prose mixed with patrician wit combine in a classic indictment of private wealth and public squalor.

_Fat Cats & Running Dogs: the Enron stage of capitalism_, Vijay Prashad, Zed Books/Common. Courage, London/Monroe, ME 2002. A breathless, angry exposé of corporate crime. Highly readable, indignant and angry.

And on the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services...

_Facing the facts: A guide to the GATS debates_, Scott Sinclair and Jim Grieshaber-Otto, 2002. And _GATS: How the WTO’s new service negotiations threaten democracy_, Scott Sinclair, Sept 2000. Comprehensive, careful research on the WTO’s secretive services agreement. Both from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Ottawa.

_Serving up the nation_, World Development Movement, London, 2002. Useful background on Britain’s commitments under the GATS including a sector-by-sector check on what’s still up for grabs.

_Trading healthcare away, GATS, public services and privatization_, Sarah Sexton, Corner House Briefing 23, 2001. One of a series of consistently intelligent, meticulously researched briefing documents on a range of social issues.

_Water justice for all_, Friends of the Earth International, Amsterdam, 2003. A colourful new report with basic facts on water privatization and the GATS with case studies from Bolivia, Peru, Sri Lanka, France, Paraguay and elsewhere.

Also recommended...

_Public Services International Research Unit_, University of Greenwich, Park Row Greenwich, London SE10 9LS. A treasure trove of research and analysis on privatization, public services and globalization, backed by Public Services International (PSI), the global confederation of public service trade unions.

_Multinational Monitor_, PO Box 19405, Washington DC 20036. Still the most consistently reliable source of news and muckraking reporting on the nefarious activities of corporate America and beyond.

_The Polaris Institute_, 312 Cooper Street, Ottawa ON, Canada K2P. Valuable resources on a range of issues related to corporate-led globalization. Includes work on GATS, water privatization, public services, the corporate security state and bio-justice.