Public Ownership in Practice

Abstract

The intensity of the Labour Party’s post-war debates demonstrates the central place that public ownership occupies in orthodox British socialism. The failure to undertake a parallel debate on the organisation of publicly owned industry has, however, created a gap between theory and practice. Quite simply there have been insufficient attempts to relate the organisation structure and the operational rules of the nationalised industries to the socialist ideas that are held by many supporters of public ownership.

The Public Corporation must be no mere capitalist business, the be-all and end-all of which is profit and dividends, even though it will, quite properly, be expected to pay its way. It must have a different atmosphere at its board table from that of a shareholders’ meeting; its Board and its officers must regard themselves as the high custodians of the public interest. [Herbert Morrison, Socialisation and Transport]