Quite a provocative title from Karen Bakker, whose new book is published by Cornell University Press.

No, this is not a review - just a heads-up.

Bakker is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of British Columbia. She also directs the Program on Water Governance. She works at the intersection of economic and environmental geography.

So what about the book? Here is the blurb from the WWW site:

Water supply privatization was emblematic of the neoliberal turn in development policy in the 1990s [emboldening mine]. Proponents argued that the private sector could provide better services at lower costs than governments; opponents questioned the risks involved in delegating control over a life-sustaining resource to for-profit companies. Private-sector activity was most concentrated—and contested—in large cities in developing countries, where the widespread lack of access to networked water supplies was characterized as a global crisis.



In Privatizing Water, Karen Bakker focuses on three questions: Why did privatization emerge as a preferred alternative for managing urban water supply? Can privatization fulfill its proponents' expectations, particularly with respect to water supply to the urban poor? And, given the apparent shortcomings of both privatization and conventional approaches to government provision, what are the alternatives?



In answering these questions, Bakker engages with broader debates over the role of the private sector in development, the role of urban communities in the provision of "public" services, and the governance of public goods. She introduces the concept of "governance failure" as a means of exploring the limitations facing both private companies and governments. Critically examining a range of issues—including the transnational struggle over the human right to water, the "commons" as a water-supply-management strategy, and the environmental dimensions of water privatization—Privatizing Water is a balanced exploration of a critical issue that affects billions of people around the world.





The book's blurb evoked some visceral responses from colleagues. The emboldened passage - especially use of the word neoliberal- was particularly annoying to one, who suggested neoconservative instead.

If you look up a definition of neoliberalism, it sounds apropos:

The term neoliberalism is used to describe a political-economic philosophy that had major implications for government policies beginning in the 1970s – and increasingly prominent since 1980 – that de-emphasizes or rejects positive government intervention in the economy, focusing instead on achieving progress and even social justice by encouraging free-market methods and less restricted operations of business and "development". Its supporters argue that the net gains for all under free trade and capitalism will outweigh the costs in all, or almost all, cases.

You can read some reviews at the book's WWW site.

It sure sounds like a fascinating read about a controversial topic in the water world.

It just moved up several notches on my 'must read' list.

Thanks to Ken Reid for alerting me to this book.

"This is why privatization is a failed experiment. Ultimately, when you're trying to get accountability, you can't get anybody to take responsibility." -- Alma Gonzalez