DISCUSSION TOPIC I: WHAT IS "PUBLIC"? WHAT IS "PRIVATE"?

The Issue

The terms "public" and "private" tend to figure prominently in policy debates and everyday discussions. These words can have various meanings, depending on the context. For example:

Similarly, "private" sometimes means the household or family sphere. But private also refers to markets, and to the goods and services which are exchanged within markets. We talk about "privatization", when the ownership of companies is transferred from the public sector into the hands of private owners. And when private firms enter the stock market, we say they "went public".

What is public and private has, in many cultures and countries, also changed over time. For instance, women in many societies were in earlier times not supposed to have a public role—and in some societies this is still the case to some extent. But, increasingly, gender roles in the private and public domain are becoming more similar, and men and women now contribute to both spheres.

Many goods and services have also been moved along the private-public continuum. Take the example of television signals. Some decades ago, all television content was public: available to anyone with access to a television set. In the meantime, technologies have become available which can limit access only to those who subscribe to satellite or to cable services. Today, one may have to subscribe to a provider of cable television in order to buy select content as a "private good ".

Globalization (the increasing openness of national borders and interdependence among countries) is changing what we mean by "private" and "public". Nation states, and the concept of national sovereignty, can be seen as expression of "privateness"; and more open borders can be depicted as enhanced "publicness".

For a more detailed discussion on this issue, see for example, "Why do Global Public Goods Matter Today? In Inge Kaul, Pedro Conceicão, Katell Le Goulven and Ronald U. Mendoza, eds., Providing Global Public Goods: Managing Globalization. New York: Oxford University Press. 2003

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The Relevance

Why do we need a Clearer Understanding of "Public" and "Private"?

Today, many of the changes in what is public and private are often still being contested. People refer to "over-privatization" or to "too much publicness".

It is important to clarify that "private" and "public" are not identical with market and state. For example, private goods, such as a swimming pool, can be provided in several ways: by a private firm, or by a club, or by a state authority such as a municipality. For people's well-being it often does not matter whether the market or the state produced the good. What matters more is whether the good is a "private thing" (only available if it is paid for) or a "public good" (there for all to use without payment).

The well-being of both individuals and communities depends on an adequate balance between private and public goods. In order for sustainable human development to succeed, many feel that we need a clearer understanding of what we mean by "private" and public".

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The Questions

The many ways in which we use the terms "public" and "private", as well as changes over time in what is in the private and public realms, raise important and interesting questions. These include:

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The discussion forum on this issue will be open from 24 February until 7 March 2003.
After the discussion closes, we will prepare a synthesis, which will be published on this website.

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