Wow! eBook
In Government we Trust: Market Failure and the Delusions of Privatisation
Author(s): Warwick Funnell (Author), Robert Jupe (Editor), Jane Andrew (Editor)
- Publisher: Pluto Press
- Publication Date: 20 Jan. 2009
- Language: English
- Print length: 320 pages
- ISBN-10: 0745329071
- ISBN-13: 9780745329079
Book Description
Neoliberalism has had a huge impact on our lives over the past three decades, convincing governments in liberal democratic states to transform themselves and society according to the values and practices of the market. In Government We Trust examines these promises within the context of market failures in services relinquished to the private sector by governments. Using prominent examples such as the collapse of Railtrack in the UK, the energy crisis in the US and the Sydney water treatment scandal in Australia, it exposes the level of risk which remains with government after privatisation, requiring them to resume responsibility when the private sector fails. The authors show how these failures reveal the benefits of government intervention and the dangers of unfettered markets. They argue that these problems confirm that there are some things only governments can and should do.
Editorial Reviews
Review
There is a need for a book such as this in accountancy and public policy courses, which emphasises that after twenty years of government induced (market) failure there is a strong case to be made for a return to trust in government. … the case studies of UK rail system, energy in the UK, California electricity-Enron and (Australian-UK) privatised prisons are well done and do add originality to the arguments on the failings of neo-liberalist theory in practice. –Associate Professor Greg McCarthy, Discipline of Politics, University of Adelaide
This book could not be more timely; it returns to the fundamentals of the privatisation debate and through specific sectoral case studies exposes the true, harsh realities of our neo-liberal obsessions. The authors have done public policy makers a great service- if they are prepared to read and learn. –Jon Cruddas MP
About the Author
Warwick Funnell is Professor of Accounting and Public Sector Accountability and Head of Accounting at Kent Business School. He is the author of Accounting at War (Routledge, 2015) and In Government We Trust (Pluto, 2009). Robert Jupe is Senior Lecturer in Accounting at the University of Kent. He is the author of In Government We Trust (Pluto, 2009). Jane Andrew is a Lecturer in Accounting at the University of Wollongong. He is the author of In Government We Trust (Pluto, 2009).
