Abstract

“The Corporation, New Governance, and the Power of the Publicization Narrative” takes a critical look at the idea of publicization and how it plays out within new governance. Publicization is a vague, but powerful, notion that the delegation of public power to for-profit agents—what John Braithwaite calls the “privatization of the public”—will lead to such agents exercising this power as idealized public servants—what Braithwaite calls the “publicization of the private.” This article argues that publicization of the private is a dangerous metaphor, which offers a romanticized picture of functionally efficient, decentered actors acting with the integrity of public servants. This article suggests that “publicization of the private” is an empty promise that will lead the faithful to be less critical of privatization. Accordingly, this article suggests that new governance initiatives may be leading to the privatization of the public without the publicization of the private.

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