Against state ownership
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(Redirected from Against nationalisation)
| Author: Patrick Crozier |
| Permalink |
I am against nationalisation because:
- The means by which the state acquired the property, either by purchase or expropriation, almost certainly involved force, or the threat of force, at some point. And I am against force
- Nationalised industries tend to be rubbish.
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Questions
- What if the property was not acquired by force? What if it was a gift? You got me there. And it's not an entirely academic point. Chequers, the Prime Minister's country residence, for instance, was a gift. I suppose I can't really object
- Why are nationalised industries so bad? Because they don't know what they are supposed to be making. In a free market prices (and balance sheets) act as signals. If a price goes up that signals greater demand, so people start to enter the market. If it goes down it indicates less demand, so people start to leave the market. But with a nationalised industry these signals rarely operate. It may be the case, as with the NHS and state education, that they don't exist at all. Or, it may be the case, as with BL that although they exist, the government of the day is so desperate to keep the enterprise going that it will forever bail it out. In other words, the bottom line is not the bottom line.
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References
1. James Bartholomew (2004?). The Welfare State We're In. Publisher?. ISBN?.
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Comments
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