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


	Author:	David A. McDonald
	Year:	2016
	Publisher:	Zed Books
	Number of pages:	30
	Available languages:	EN \| ES
	ISBN:	ISBN 978-1-78360-483-8 hb; ISBN 978-1-78360-482-1 pb; ISBN 978-1-78360-484-5 pdf; ISBN 978-1-78360-485-2 epub; ISBN 978-1-78360-486-9 mob
	Available Formats:	(EN) Buy this Book \| (ES) Buy this book

Abstract

How do we provide effective public services in a deeply neoliberal world? In the wake of the widespread failure of privatization 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 – from public health activists in rural Guatemala, to waste pickers in India and decentralized solar electricity initiatives in Africa – Making Public in a Privatized World uncovers the radically different ways in which public services are being reshaped from the grassroots up.

Chapters - English

Introduction: The Wonderful Worlds of Making Public
David A. McDonald

Section I: Engaging Communities and Workers
Work of the Ants: Labour and Community Reinventing Public Water in Colombia
Madeleine Bélanger Dumontier, Susan Spronk and Adrian Murray
Old Trash, New Ideas: Public Waste Management and Informal Reclaimers
Melanie Samson
Ships Passing in the Dark? Reigniting Labour-Community Alliances for Public Services in South Africa
Dale T. McKinley
Public Health for Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala: Monitoring from the Bottom Up
Walter Flores

Section II: Recognizing Quasi-Public Actors
Electrified Publics and Informal Settlements in India
Bipasha Baruah
Principles and Pitfalls: Searching for Public in ‘Community-Led Total Sanitation’
Mary Galvin
Public Faith: Christian and Muslim Health Services in Uganda
Yoswa Dambisya, Mulalo Manenzhe and Allie Kibwika-Muyinda

Section III: Promoting Equity and Democratic Control
Gender Equity, Citizenship and Public Water in Bangladesh
Farhana Sultana, Chandra Talpade Mohanty and Sarah Miraglia
Struggling for Public, Reclaiming Citizenship: Everyday Practices of Access to Water in Medellín, Colombia
Marcela López
Public Renewable Energy in Africa: The Potential for Democratic Electrification
Sandra van Niekerk

Section IV: Financing Public Services
(Re)Making Public Banks: The Case of Turkey
Thomas Marois and Ali Riza Güngen
Pragmatic Publics in the Heartland of Capitalism: Local services in the United States
Mildred E. Warner
Post-Neoliberalism in Bolivia? Water Sector Reforms under Evo Morales
Susan Spronk
Conclusion: Building a Global Pro-Public Movement
David A. McDonald