The WhatsApp nation

In an era of relentless privatization, nationalization has become a bad word. It is synonymous with populism — Indira Gandhi’s bank nationalization drive — economic failure — the continuing misery of Air India — and the spectre of totalitarianism — the impending takeover of Alibaba by the Chinese State. But instances of nationalizing successful private companies for extraneous, often political, ends have meant that the original logic of nationalization has been lost. Certain companies performing critical public functions must work for the benefit of the public — if they don’t, then governments must step in to the breach. However, as I argue in this piece, this need not necessarily be by taking over ownership and control of the company.