It struck a nerve within me when Joel pointed out the continuing process of privatization that is occurring in our society. It has become a slow trend that more and more pieces of the public sector are being turned over to private management. Joel identifies the prevailing idea that a private, profit driven organization will utilize limited resources more efficiently than a public organization as one of the driving factors behind this trend.
What I find most alarming about Joel's account is the way that services which were all commonly believed to be truly public in nature, are slowly being privatized: in the US the privatization of education is well under way; in Canada, we are seeing the beginnings of the privatization of healthcare; (other examples?).
Around the same time I was reading this, I caught an interview with
I thought about this for a bit, but I think there is a more subtle point than that. What we're really looking at is the privatization of privacy, as Bakan might put it. We are handing over the management of our private lives to private corporations.
It is hard to feel comfortable about this when put into those terms.
Particularly when you consider the progression of such communications technologies. At first cell phones were a luxury, but each new generation views them more as a necessity. A similar thing is happening with social networking sites. Initially they are a curiosity, but as time goes on and the networks expand, they are increasingly viewed as an integral part of how one interacts with one's peers.
On most days I feel like the concerns about social networking and the loss of privacy is an overreaction to a temporary condition as we learn how to best use these new communications mediums. But sometimes its worth it to stop and think about the "big picture" to at least understand how our lives are changing, even if we do decide its for a net gain.
