For what it's worth, even Thatcher thought rail privatisation was "a privatisation too far" [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privatisation_of_British_Rail#...

Thatcherism went beyond the namesake :)

No it doesn't, this is absolutely not the end of privatization. Private companies will still be running all the trains, the only difference will be they'll be run under the branding of GBR so that people can't complain about the private companies.

All this does is move the accountability away from the private companies.

Sadly.

> The Fed, Blackwater, prisons, rail, hospitals, banks... What could possibly go wrong?

This is not a universal truth. Come enjoy an African government hospital, then sample one of the listed private hospitals.

"There exists a private hospital in a country of superior quality to a public hospital in the same country" is a weak claim. Even weaker is "there exists a private hospital in the world of superior quality to a public hospital also in the world".

Private hospitals are usually nicer than public ones everywhere, but that's obviously to be expected.

However, that misses the point of state involvement in education and healthcare, which is universal access. Of course people with money will have access to (good) schools and (good) healthcare. The state is involved so that everyone has access to those services.

Education and healthcare also have network effects. If people near you are ill then you're likely to also become ill. If people around you think taxation is theft and coercion then they can band together and elect people with similar brain worms into government.

I'm fairly certain that the claim you're replying to is that private hospitals in the countries in question are consistently better than public ones.

If that was the claim, then why consider African hospitals instead of any hospital?

because:

1. its were I live

2. its where glib statements about the virtues government-run organisations slam into cold hard reality. More so than say Switzerland.

3. try get an EU/US/CA/AU/NZ/JP expat to work in Africa and expect his family to use government hospitals. Really, try.

Because those are the countries in question.

This type of "privatization" doesn't make the government any smaller. There is still exactly the same amount of coercion and government control.

Building railways roads and essential national infrastructure... Coersion?

Yes. Taxing people to pay for those things requires coercion. Preventing other people from providing completing services requires coercion.

I have lives in 3 coubtries and never seen a government preventing anyone from building private roads, railways, etc. Somehow essential infrastructure is not a popular business investment

Also by that logic stopping people from dueling or stabbing each-other on the street is coersion . Stopping coersion by mafia is coersion. How is this a usefull concept?

Tax could befall only businesses, which are coerced anyway (as you need a license to start a business). Then the businesses increase prices for their products, for which consumers ultimately pay (uncoerced).

So how are they prevented from building competing tracks and more importantly how would one build competing tracks if allowed?