sinelce's review
4.0
I could be here all day extolling the virtues of this excellent account of the corporatisation of public services (of course, as Meek proves, in reality, the idea of "public" and "private" spheres are of course false dichotomies), only, I know how annoying long reviews on goodreads can be so will keep it short and succinct.
First of all: EVERY single British citizen should read this (in fact, I'd go as far as to say that it should be mandatory reading on all sixth form politics syllabuses).
Meek is an excellent journalist and writer, deftly navigates the murky legacy of corporate greed and how this has impacted and still impacts the society we live in. I can only say that despite my own long-running interest in politics and the economic snd social life of the UK, Meek really makes what would otherwise be an extremely tawdry affair an engaging and incredibly insightful reading experience. Meek constitutes that all too rare occurrence of a writer who clearly cares deeply enough to investigate and expose the excesses of privatisation (he interviews both the victims of unrestricted privatisation and its acolytes) without sentimentalising the Attlee years and employing the usual "lefty" didacticism and Owen Jonesesque hand-wringing we see all too often (FYI I don't particularly dislike Owen, as far as social democrats go he's clearly well intentioned despite his flaws).
I genuinely can't recommend this book enough. It opened my politically attuned eyes to just how deep-seated and insidious the neoliberal agenda is in the UK. Ignore its contents at your own peril.
First of all: EVERY single British citizen should read this (in fact, I'd go as far as to say that it should be mandatory reading on all sixth form politics syllabuses).
Meek is an excellent journalist and writer, deftly navigates the murky legacy of corporate greed and how this has impacted and still impacts the society we live in. I can only say that despite my own long-running interest in politics and the economic snd social life of the UK, Meek really makes what would otherwise be an extremely tawdry affair an engaging and incredibly insightful reading experience. Meek constitutes that all too rare occurrence of a writer who clearly cares deeply enough to investigate and expose the excesses of privatisation (he interviews both the victims of unrestricted privatisation and its acolytes) without sentimentalising the Attlee years and employing the usual "lefty" didacticism and Owen Jonesesque hand-wringing we see all too often (FYI I don't particularly dislike Owen, as far as social democrats go he's clearly well intentioned despite his flaws).
I genuinely can't recommend this book enough. It opened my politically attuned eyes to just how deep-seated and insidious the neoliberal agenda is in the UK. Ignore its contents at your own peril.
atnmitch's review
3.0
Somewhat disappointing, it's very well written and the stories are engrossing but it lacks something towards the economics. It's evident from what we read that the management of these privatised companies is either incompetent or negligent towards the operation of the companies, less so in favour of profits; but I think what could have been explored is the class interests that motivated the privatisations. I think this where the fact that the book is adapted from separate articles hits its limitation, as there is no common thread which links all these desparate privatisations, where the transfer of assets from public to private ownership, and guaranteeing the latter an income based on monopoly.
Some good analysis in the afterword which I wish were expanded upon as a more general look at the way these monopoly industries privatisation has not had the adverised effect, and that the privatisation essentially changed the tax recipient, and removes the potential progressive aspect of taxation.
Some good analysis in the afterword which I wish were expanded upon as a more general look at the way these monopoly industries privatisation has not had the adverised effect, and that the privatisation essentially changed the tax recipient, and removes the potential progressive aspect of taxation.
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