The Private Abuse of the Public Interest: Market Myths and Policy Muddles (Chicago Studies in American Politics) Review

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The Private Abuse of the Public Interest: Market Myths and Policy Muddles (Chicago Studies in American Politics) ReviewThis is excellent political science and public policy analysis critiquing a philosophy and approach to policymaking that the authors term "market utopianism". It is grounded in a look at how several market-based public policy approaches in 3 areas--health care (HMOs, for-profit health insurance) example), education (public school choice, charter schools, and private school vouchers), and transportation (airline, railroad, and trucking deregulation in the 1980s)--have actually played out in the real world as opposed to the drawing board.
"Market utopianism" is, roughly speaking, the view that market-based government policies are a) presumptively applicable and usually, if not almost always, preferable as a government policy approach, regardless of the issue; and b) require little or nothing in the way of government regulation or other intervention to work well.
In its more extreme versions, often on display in political campaigns in recent decades, it expresses a "markets good, government bad" view that serves as an instantly available, one-size-fits-all response when a candidate is asked what his or her approach to public policy is.
The authors discern a 5-step cycle common to the introduction of market-based reforms in the three policy areas referred to above. The final stage is pragmatic adjustments to the initial policy to correct for its practical flaws. These adjustments entail expanded and more vigorous governmental intervention, contrary to the rhetoric usually accompanying initial adoption of the policies which implies no, or a minimal, role for government in putting them into effect and ensuring they work properly.
For example, in response to consumer complaints about how HMOs have actually functioned, many states have stepped in to pass "patients' bill of rights" laws which constrain the ability of HMOs to deny coverage for certain services or adjudicate patient disputes in-house rather than in an independent, impartial forum.
Drawing lessons from practical experience, the authors describe and advocate what they call an institutional pragmatist, or realist approach as more likely to result in sound, sensible and effective policymaking. This, they maintain, is the approach favored by the real Adam Smith, as opposed to the incomplete version of him trotted out by anti-government, free market ideologues.
At 131 pages, this is a succinct, accessible, well-articulated analysis and reminder of what our actual experience shows: markets do not self-regulate in some sort of blissful government and regulation-free state of nature. Rather, they require vigorous, effective government regulation to function properly. Recommended as a non-technical read for thoughtful policy types and other citizens.The Private Abuse of the Public Interest: Market Myths and Policy Muddles (Chicago Studies in American Politics) Overview

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