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Privatization And Prisons, E. S. Savas

Vanderbilt Law Review

"Privatization" means increased governmental reliance on the private sector, rather than on government agencies, to satisfy the needs of society. Since the word was first used in 1969,' privatization has gained broad recognition and widespread acceptance, and,in recent years, a major trend toward privatization has developed in the United States and abroad. The reasons for this trend are both pragmatic and ideological. Pragmatists advocate privatization because it offers a more efficient way to provide goods and services. Ideological opponents of big government support privatization be-cause it reduces the role of government. Privatization is therefore an important movement in East and …