THE 3 FACES OF PRIVATISATION

Starting from the premise that social policies represent solutions to socially constructed problems (Edelman 1987), this article presents an adaptation of Lukes's (1974) theory of power to consider three interp retations of privatisation as illustrated in Britain and the United St ates during the 1980s and early 1990s. Privatisation is most frequentl y presented in political and academic discourse as essentially a matte r of contracting out public services or functions and selling off stat e assets. This 'first face' of privatisation coincides with a naive pl uralist approach to power and a liberal capitalist vision of society. While this view has some justification within a very narrow frame of r eference, a 'second face' of privatisation is necessary to bring atten tion to crucially related aspects of exercises of power, such as corru ption, homelessness and social inequality, which may be products of co ntracting out and sell-offs. Additionally, a second face view of priva tisation highlights the privatising effects of certain policies which are ignored, obscured or hidden by the first face view. An analysis of public sector expenditure cuts as a process of privatisation is cruci al in this regard. Finally, a 'third face' of privatisation, as a hege monic project, is raised. Here, privatisation is viewed as having a cu ltural and political mission, aiming to alter consciousness and effect changes in power relationships. The hegemonic capacity of privatisati on is considered through an examination of ideological constructions s uch as the binary divide between private and public spheres and a soci obiological rationale for policy.