The Liberalization of Public Services

LIBERALIZATION OF PUBLIC SERVICES – A DEMOCRATIC ACHIEVEMENT IS SUBJECTED TO THE RULES OF COMPETITION By Christine Wicht and Carsten Lenz [This article published in September 2005 is translated abridged from the German on the Internet, www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=39559.] Public service guarantees and influences the essential living conditions of our society. Public service by the public authority has a proven tradition in Germany for over 100 years. It is oriented in the basic idea that services should be available all over the country to all citizens without discrimination. The public authority aims at permanently protecting the foundations of life for everyone and guaranteeing a higher standard of hygiene, health, and environmental protection. The basic provision of citizens is a core responsibility of local self-government. Communities decide over the benefits available to their citizens. Local or communal public service has become an important pillar of our society with the common good obligation to guarantee the same quality, absolute reliability, and fair prices to every citizen. The public authority fulfills its provision mandate responsibly and sustainably that never has a priority for private service providers since they must consider the profit interests of their shareholders. According to the principles of neoliberal economic policy, a liberalization and privatization policy is single-mindedly emphasized worldwide by companies, the WTO, the EU, governments, and parliaments. According to current experiences, privatizations mainly led to private oligopolies which did not represent any improvement over state monopolies. In this article, we will explain the importance of a public authority managing public service, why a private provision cannot accomplish the same services as the public authority, what interests underlie the liberalization policy and what effects this has on the care of citizens. Again and again, the state is criticized for not spending money sensibly, for uneconomical administration and ineffective work and therefore the services are too expensive. Public service is a more expensive realm of the public authority because it sets the social aspect of equal treatment and sustainability above all profit maximization and not because the state works uneconomically. Private providers only fulfill their task through cost-reductions joined with cuts in quality and higher prices.