Privatization and Its Discontents

‘If you think that only economic historians and historians of technology could be interested in railroads, the telegraph, canals, and turnpikes, this book will make you think again. Matthew Titolo shows how ideas about public support for private enterprise reflected and shaped competing visions of the well-ordered society in the United States. His provocative reflections on the way the very word ‘infrastructure’ has been used, particularly during and after the Cold War, are worth the price of admission.’ Mark Tushnet, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law emeritus, Harvard Law School

‘Professor Titolo has written a provocative and penetrating historical analysis of the political development of American infrastructure that transcends the myth of a nation founded on laissez-faire principles. When we talk of crumbling infrastructure, we mean more than collapsing bridges and pitted roads. We mean a society that is crumbling, that can no longer sustain itself. Building infrastructure therefore requires political negotiations not only between public and private entities but also about the definition of public and private spheres.’ Stephen Feldman, Jerry W. Housel/Carl F. Arnold Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Wyoming

‘This is a truly fantastic and much-needed book. Matthew Titolo gives us a theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich masterpiece of economic and legal history. Titolo produces muscular scholarship astride exhaustively dense footnoted sourcing; and yet, his writing is eloquent and lively. In these pages, primary documents not only break new historical ground, they also bring the story to life. In both form and content, Privatization and its Discontents is unbeatable.’ Christian Parenti, Professor, John Jay College, CUNY and author of Radical Hamilton

‘The subject and problem of infrastructure - newly discussed in law under rubrics like networks, platforms, and utilities - has never been more interesting, salient, and urgent. In this context, Matthew Titolo's sweeping new interdisciplinary history could not be more welcome. Ranging from Adam Smith's theories of police and public works to Joe Biden's Infrastructure, Investments, and Jobs Act, Privatization and Its Discontents provides an invaluable interpretive roadmap to the central questions, frameworks, and transformations that have long preoccupied this all-important field of public-private governance. Titolo's synthetic history is an indispensable resource for re-thinking infrastructure in the 21st century.’ William J. Novak, Charles F. and Edith J. Clyne Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School

‘A fresh perspective on the foundations of modern infrastructure policy that emerged from the late 18th century up to the middle of the 19th century.’ Thomas C. Cornillie, Journal of the American Planning Association