ABSTRACT
Two political legacies of the 1980s seem certain to color and constrain the economics of the 1990s. The first is a renewed cultural enthusiasm for private enterprise. The second is a deficit-induced imperative to limit government spending. In the confluence of these trends have been born great hopes for "privatization," the delegation of public duties to private businesses. These hopes are almost surely doomed to frustration. For while a good case can be made for turning many parts of the public's business over to private contractors, the arguments that stoke conservative ardor for privatization are chiefly ideological rather than pragmatic. Privatization's political appeal, moreover, tends to be greatest in precisely those cases where it makes the least sense.
