The Failure of Capitalism

[DaShi]

Or more precisely, privatisation.

The US owes a lot of its prosperity last century from private enterprise and as such has applied its logic to nearly everything that can be commodified or not. However, are there any areas where privatisation has failed miserably?

[SlowwHand]

Whore houses.

[Whoha]

space related stuff.

[Zkribbler]

My favorite were the old time mental institution, which received government funding per patient. Some places would put the patients into the attic and nail the entry closed, letting their wards stave to death.

Then there were the early meat packers who'd make sausage by tossing in meat, rotten meat, meat byproducts, hides, rats and the poison that killed the rats.

Pinkerton detectives acting as agents provacateur and gunning down unarmed strikers.

[Proteus_MST]

It fails for railroads and other forms of public transportation.

If the companies want to make revenue they would have to concentrate on profitable routes, meaning that many less profitable train/busstops (that are still used by people but not by enough of them) would have to be given up.

[Victor Galis]

UK rail privatization has resulted in fairly pathetic rail service.

[Zkribbler]

Of course, healthcare.

The U.S. is the only industrialized nation which uses private insurers to provide healthcare. As a result, we spend far more than any other country, yet we have the shortest lifespans and highest infant mortality rate.

[One_more_turn]

Law enforcement. If privatized, will quickly degenerate into factional fightings.

[lord of the mark]

troll threads, which the free market tends to oversupply, ignoring negative externalities

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Victor Galis
UK rail privatization has resulted in fairly pathetic rail service.

To be fair, it was pathetic before privatisation.

[Zkribbler]

I wouldn't want to see private fire departments.

Your house is on fire. The fire truck shows up and presents you with a contract which you have to sign before they'll put your house out.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
I wouldn't want to see private fire departments.

Your house is on fire. The fire truck shows up and presents you with a contract which you have to sign before they'll put your house out.

No, your fire insurance company runs its own fire trucks. Thats what they did in colonial times. The real problem is duplication of infrastructure, like with other utilities.

[DaShi]

Without duplication, how can there be competition?

[One_more_turn]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
I wouldn't want to see private fire departments.

Your house is on fire. The fire truck shows up and presents you with a contract which you have to sign before they'll put your house out.

Marcus Licinius Crassus

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by DaShi
Without duplication, how can there be competition?

Where fixed costs are a particularly high portion of total costs, the benefits are competition are lesser relative to the losses. This is called a "natural monopoly"