ABSTRACT
This chapter represents a critical engagement with the political Left in the United States over the issue of privatization.1 I argue that once the class dimension of privatization is considered it becomes possible to reconceptualize privatization processes as vehicles by which progressive class-based development policies can be pursued.2 I am well aware this argument will strike many on the Left as at best odd or naïve, and at worst dangerous and misguided. The primary motivation for the argument is (as explained in the book’s opening chapter) this: it seems increasingly unlikely that the economic, political, and ideological forces that drive privatization initiatives will abate in the future. This suggests that the Left faces an insuperable task-pouring ever more resources into fighting more and more privatization initiatives with (at best) scattered successes. In light of this, the argument developed aims to chart a new class-based privatization strategy. This strategy centers upon (what I refer to as) democratic enterprise formation.
