Making Public in a Privatized World: The Struggle for Essential Services

by David A. McDonald (Editor)

Overview

How do we provide effective public services in a deeply neoliberal world? In the wake of the widespread failure of privatisation efforts, societies in the global south are increasingly seeking progressive ways of recreating the public sector. With contributors ranging from cutting-edge scholars to activists working in health, water, and energy provision, and with case studies covering a broad spectrum of localities and actors, Making Public in a Privatized World uncovers the radically different ways in which public services are being reshaped from the grassroots up.

From communities holding the state accountable for public health in rural Guatemala, to waste pickers in India and decentralized solar electricity initiatives in Africa, the essays in this collection offer probing insights into the complex ways in which people are building genuine alternatives to privatization, while also illustrating the challenges which communities face in creating public services which are not subordinated to the logic of the market, or to the monolithic state entities of the past.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783604838
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/15/2016
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

David A. McDonald is professor of global development studies at Queen's University, Canada, and co-director of the Municipal Services Project. His research relates primarily to the delivery of essential services in the global South, and encompasses a broad spectrum of related questions around urbanization, environmental justice and uneven development.

Table of Contents

List of figures and tables vii

Acknowledgements viii

List of abbreviations and acronyms ix

1 Introduction: the wonderful worlds of making public David A. McDonald 1

Part 1 Engaging Communities and Workers

2 Work of the ants: labour and community reinventing public water in Colombia Madeleine Bélanger Dumontier Susan Spronk Adrian Murray 23

3 Old trash, new ideas: public waste management and informal reclaimers Melanie Samson 41

4 Ships passing in the dark? Reigniting labour-community alliances for public services in South Africa Dale T. McKinley 59

5 Public health for indigenous peoples in Guatemala: monitoring from the bottom up Walter Flores 81

Part 2 Recognizing Quasi-Public Actors

6 Electrified publics and informal settlements in urban India Bipasha Baruah 99

7 Principles and pitfalls: searching for public in 'community-led total sanitation' Mary Galvin 117

8 Public faith: Christian and Muslim health services in Uganda Yoswa M. Dambisya Mulalo Manenzhe Allie B. Kibwika-Muyinda 132

Part 3 Promoting Equity and Democratic Control

9 Gender equity, citizenship and public water in Bangladesh Farhana Sultana Chandra Talpade Mohanty Sarah Miraglia 149

10 Struggling for public, reclaiming citizenship: everyday practices of access to water in Medellin, Colombia Marcela López 165

11 Public renewable energy in Africa: the potential for democratic electrification Sandra van Niekerk 179

Part 4 Financing Public Services

12 (Re)making public banks: the case of Turkey Thomas Marois Ali Riza Güngen 197

13 Pragmatic publics in the heartland of capitalism: local services in the United States Mildred E. Warner 218

14 Post-neoliberalism in Bolivia? Water sector reforms under Evo Morales Susan Spronk 234

15 Conclusion: building a global pro-public movement David A. McDonald 251

About the contributors 263

Index 266

Editorial Reviews

An excellent and timely book that is a welcome contribution to the growing debate about alternatives to neoliberalism and privatization in critical public services.” —Andrew Cumbers, University of Glasgow

“This superb collection explores convincingly why public services should indeed be delivered by the public and not by private companies. The contributions offer an extraordinarily insightful foray into the contours of and possibilities for inclusive and democratic public service delivery, both within and outside of the state.” —Erik Swyngedouw, University of Manchester

“A remarkable collection of work and an urgently needed intervention into struggles over public services. It deserves to be read by those depressed by the rolling tide of privatization and by those struggling to find better ways of serving publics.” —John Clarke, The Open University

From the Publisher

“This superb collection explores convincingly why public services should indeed be delivered by the public and not by private companies. The contributions offer an extraordinarily insightful foray into the contours of and possibilities for inclusive and democratic public service delivery, both within and outside of the state.

Erik Swyngedouw