ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the definition of the term privatisation, the philosophical and theoretical aspects of the current resurgence of privatisation and the policy issues which have been raised regarding its general implementation. The concept of privatisation is not new and can be found in the work of the philosopher and economist Adam Smith as early as 1762. Privatisation is a process or an approach and essentially no definition can wholly encompass something which may have different interpretations and applications. The origins of privatisation in its current form lie in the eighteenth century with the ideas embodied in Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations and Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. Privatisation has occurred because within the economic and political forces operating in the 1980s it was the best way to achieve the Government’s objective of reducing the role of the state in the economy. Privatisation has been, and continues to be a policy of an overtly political nature.
