privatization
pry-vuh-tuh-ZAY-shun
/ˌpraɪvətəˈzeɪʃn/
The transfer of a business, industry, or service from public (state) ownership and control to private ownership.
Focuses on structural shift from state-held public assets to market-driven private corporate entities.
The story behind the word. Traces back to Latin 'privatus', meaning belonging to an individual rather than the state (from 'privare', to deprive or set apart). The specific noun 'privatization' was popularized in the 1930s by The Economist to describe Nazi economic policy, and gained widespread global adoption in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher's reform program.
Word relationships
- denationalization: Denationalization specifically emphasizes stripping state ownership, whereas privatization stresses selling to private commercial hands.
- commercialization: Commercialization means running an operation for profit, which can happen even while state-owned, unlike full privatization.
- nationalization: Nationalization is bringing private assets under state government control.
- municipalization: Municipalization means bringing private services under local city government control.
Commonly confused with
- deregulation: Privatization changes ownership from state to private; deregulation removes state rules regardless of ownership.
Word family
- privatize (verb): To transfer state assets into private ownership.
- private (adjective): Belonging to an individual or corporate body rather than the state.
Collocations
- mass privatization
- privatization of assets
- privatization wave
- privatization reform
Example sentences
- "The privatization of state-owned telecommunications companies led to increased market competition and lower consumer tariffs." Economic policy analysis
- "Opponents claimed that the privatization of water utilities would result in inflated service charges for low-income residents." Infrastructure reform report
Memory hook
PRIVAT-ization = Making public things PRIVATE property. Privatization = Public to Private transition.
When not to use
Do not confuse with personal privacy or keeping personal secrets hidden.
Fun facts
- Peter Drucker was one of the first management theorists to use 'reprivatization' in 1969 to advocate state divestment.
Related words
Explore more words
capitalism, revitalization, monetization, Divestiture, deregulation, commercialization
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