Customer Reviews

The Fox in the Henhouse: How Privatization Threatens Democracy (Bk Currents)

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This is a frightening book. It's about a threat to our way of life, a threat the more menacing in that it's creeping up on us unawares and insinuating itself into every aspect of our lives, our schools, our health care, our environment, our democratic values and institutions. The strategy is this: claim a public system is failing, disinvest and otherwise make sure that it does fail, support and publicize private alternatives, then justify the shift from public to private by saying, "We had to do it because the public system was so terrible." It's happening with our schools, our prisons, our health care. The claim is, the private sector will do it more efficiently. The reality is, they do it for profit- and they're accountable to no one. We did not elect them. We don't even know who they are!

This book is an eye opener. No wonder we all go around feeling like we're losing control of our lives-we are. We're losing our country. The authors point out that the public sector has a pretty good track record, from the public hospitals we were born in, to the public schools, the community colleges and colleges, we attended, to the public highways we drive on and the public officials we count on to protect us-these institutions were not set up for profit, but to serve us. Corporations don't serve us. They serve themselves.

Unless we mobilize, we're going to lose it.

In this "must-read" book, Kahn and Minnich demonstrate persuasively that privatization is not a viable solution to public problems and is not an isolated phenomenon. Drawing on historical and contemporary examples, they argue that privatization is part of a corporate strategy to shift "public funds into private pockets," thereby creating the very problems it purports to fix. Although they see these growing efforts as a serious assault on our democratic rights and the public good, with this book they hope to reverse this trend by activating our spirits of resistance and cooperation. The embedded poems, songs and stories infuse the book with special richness and warmth.

Attacks from the neocons come from so many directions that it's often hard to articulate an overarching/ underlying principle behind their agenda. Until recently, I might have identified "greed" or "desire for absolute power," as their byword, but after reading The Fox in the Henhouse, I'm inclined to agree that "privatization," in its largest sense is a crux of the problem. By reconceptualizing the notion of what is and ought to remain "public," Si Kahn and Elizabeth Minnich awaken us not only to the dangers of privatization, but also to the rights, the resources and the responsbilities that we have as members of the endangered public sphere. This is a vitally important book for understanding our current situation, for recognizing new threats, and for taking effective action.

In The Fox in the Henhouse, Si Kahn and Elizabeth Minnich offer an eloquent and passionate analysis of the massive threat to American democracy posed by privatization. They present a frighteningly clear exploration of the corporate takeover of the public sphere that is rapidly eroding fundamental rights and freedoms, erasing the "public good," and eviscerating democracy itself. Theirs, however, is a prophetic call to action, not despair. "We the People" must reassert the primacy of the public good over private profit for the sake of us all and before it is too late.

At the outset, I must concede that I have a bit of a bias when it comes to the subject matter of this book. As a civil servant I've had to put up with the incessant drone of the Bush administration's propaganda machine as it extols the merits of A-76 studies. Every time I turn around I receive an e-mail @ work that tries to convince us how fair, just and blessed his privatization agenda is.

The problem is, I've seen myriad A-76 disasters; bait & switch tactics by contractors, egregious amounts of money being spent on useless studies, government workers being shafted no matter what happens, companies going bankrupt after receiving the contract and (most likely to happen) the contractor falling well short of what it promised in the original agreement. I do NOT need some bureaucrat in Washington telling me I didn't really see what I already saw!!

All the while, I kept thinking that surely someone out there must see the same waste / fraud / abuse in government contracting that I did. Thankfully, for once in my life, I was correct. Enter Minnich and Kahn. This book details many of the problems I already knew existed, but goes further in-depth than I have been able.

Some may be offended that the book portrays Republicans and corporate executives as voracious wolves who would eat their own young to turn a buck. The most surprising thing about this assessment is that it's accurate. Whether it's politically correct to call something what it already is, is entirely irrelevant.

George W. Bush is likely the most privatization-friendly president in history. He has nothing but contempt for government workers, and the sooner we're all out-sourced, the better. The company line is that outsourcing is a fabulous deal for everyone, and people who work for the private sector are intrinsically more intelligent and operate with greater efficiency than those who work for the government. In the end, if the government is privatized, it helps the "free market" economy and the government "releases itself" from being a burden to progress. The sixty-thousand-dollar question, of course, is this: can this be categorically said to be true?

If you answered "no," you are correct. If you're not convinced that no is the right answer, read the horror stories from this book & they will promptly change your mind. For all those who would claim that this book is nothing but a whimsical book written by bed-wetting liberals, I say this: for ONCE in your life exercise your aptitude for critical thinking and USE it when you read what Minnich & Kahn have to say!!

For those who are skeptical of privatizing the government, this book will reinforce your reasons for being skeptical. Some who are naive enough to believe that Dubya actually has the well-being of this countries' citizens in mind when he makes his decisions will be stunned by the revelations contained herein. However, to grow as a country sometimes demands painful steps be made. Stopping the arbitrary onslaught of privatization is one of them. Read this book and you will peer into what is REALLY "behind the curtain" of the privatization agenda.

Strengths - This book makes a very articulate argument against privatization from a philosophical viewpoint, spanning several areas of "industry" (health care, schools, prisons, etc.) and why a vibrant public sector benefits not only the poor and middle class, but corporations themselves. The sections on privatizing prisons is particularly illuminating, given the authors' experience with advocacy in this particular realm. Unlike other books, this one actually does come up with an alternate plan to the current privatization schemes, unlike other books which just "rage against the machine".

Weaknesses - Other than the sections on prisons, facts and figures seem to be lacking. There are plenty of solid statistics backing up the hard economic reality that the book argues out there, they just don't include them. I also could do without the poetry, it really doesn't add anything to the argument and seems more of a distraction.

One neutral comment - The book indicates that some corporations are trying to put their employees on Medicaid, transferring economic responsibility to the government. In reality, they don't want Medicaid to exist at all, so they don't have to pay "high" business taxes...and we are essentially left with a cash-pay health care industry where only those with the means to pay get even adequate care.

The Fox in the Hen House is a must read for active citizens across the political and economic spectrum. In eloquent and readable prose - based on research and concise analysis, but including many stories and song lyrics - philosopher/educator Elizabeth Minnich and organizer/song writer Si Kahn probe the threat posed by attempts to turn public services and traditional government benefits over to private corporations for profit. Kahn and Minnich support profit-making businesses and economic competition in their proper place. But they see a grave danger to democratic values when a private profit culture seeks to invade and eliminate a public goods culture, one where human services can't be reduced to monetary values, and where cooperation is necessary to foster the common good. While especially persuasive in critiquing privatization attempts in the prisons and education - fields where they have a great deal of experience -, the two authors also dissect recent battles over social security.

The Fox in the Hen House is not just a critique, but presents a powerful alterative vision, one rooted in traditional American values of freedom and equality based in a vibrant public sector. Recounting how their own ancestors and extended families benefitted from public services, Minnich and Kahn ask: "Without the welfare state . . . , who will provide the schools that educate their [corporation's] workers, the public health care that protects us all against the kind of epidemics that used to kill hundreds of thousands of people? Who will provide the police and firefighters who keep all our homes and neighborhoods safe? Who will protect the water, the air, the soil on which all life depends?" Corporations depend on all these services, but they cannot spend money on them, when it will cut their profit margins and make them less competitive on Wall Street.

Beyond vision, The Fox in the Hen House provides guidelines about how we can organize to protect and extend our public sector and build a democratic community.

Every time period, every era is marked by historical trends that occur too slow to perceive by most, but which result in momentous transformations in the makeup of society. I dare say that privatization is the biggest trend of the post Cold War era. Whether it is public utilities, telecommunications, police, correctional facilities, or even space exploration, the forces of privatization have slowly and gradually taken over countries on every continent. Privatization is also one of the least discussed issues in both politics, political science, and economics.

This book addresses how privatization affects democracy and democratic governments. The authors, veterans of numerous civil rights struggles, have written a short book laying out the case against privatization of many sectors of society, some of which were listed earlier in this review. The text is quite short for such a massive subject, and only privatization of three sectors of the economy are examined in detail; prisons, schools, and the US military. Brief mention is made of privatization of airport security, airport traffic control, water, and land. The book ignores privatization of scientific/medical research, financial regulations, power utilities, roads/transit systems, and a whole host of other sectors of the economy.

The style of the text is about one third fact, one third polemic, and one third philosophical reasoning. I was expecting this book to be a cross between a history book and investigative journalism. Unfortunately. it seemed to be a mixture of political propaganda and editorial journalism. As such, the authors offer too little factual analysis and too much commentary; basically a liberal counterpoint to Rush Limbaugh. This is unfortunate as both the title of the text and the subject matter is quite important. If a second edition is released, the authors should include more data to back their arguments; data in the form of tables, charts, and graphs. The authors should also leave out the various poems and folk songs interspersed on every other page. The authors should also examine more sectors of the economy and how each has been privatized to some extent.

In summary, a book with great promise, great ideas, but mediocre execution and delivery. Not enough substance or heart.

The Fox in the Henhouse is a compelling and very readable expose of how many vital public functions--healthcare, mass transit, prisons, santitation, military functions and even water--are being taken over by ever-larger and greedy corporations. the authors discuss both the history of privatization and recent, disturbing examples. Anyone concerned with the future of our country and our planet will be informed and moved to action to counter the trends detailed in this timely book.

The book is a good read that changed my philosophy from a "libertarian" approach to a more Adam Smith-like approach in which the government regulates the marketplace to create a level playing field. Even Adam Smith saw there were limits to what a free market can do. We should not have a economic race to the bottom. Mindless pursuit of privitization can be more expensive socially, politically, and economically than relying on the government.

The book reminds us that the proper role of government in the words of Abraham Lincoln is help people do what they cannot do for themselves. If that means public schools and social security, it is a reasonable price to pay for people to live like civilized human beings. Government services and regulations prevent private enterprise from overstepping its bounds into dominating our lives. For example, the book points out we all lose when Clearwater Communications dominates all the radio and television stations in a given community so there are no other voices.

There is a role for government and there is a role for private enterprise. We should not allow blind worship of the marketplace to enable a few people on top become even richer by gutting social services and government regulations so they can save on taxes and the rest us can suffer the consequences. To privatize government is to put into the hands of a few people who are already well-off and can look after themselves.