PUBLIC CORPORATIONS

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31754, 10 August 1968, Page 4

PUBLIC CORPORATIONS

The Nationalised Industries. An Introduction by W. Thornhill. Nelson, 248 pp. Appendix, bibliography, index.

Nationalisation In Britain takes the form of public corporations, whereby an important industry or service Is brought within public control without making it an ordinary government, department. With no shareholders and serving the national interest, the public corporation fulfills the pur-

pose of nationalisation. As an autonmous body, it Is shielded from political Influence, ministerial vacillation, and conventional procedure in the pursuance of its commercial responsibilities. The public corporation is a specific contribution of English pragmatism to the constitution of a new economic order; it furnishes a compromise between individualism and collectivism.

The nationalised industries are of vital importance to the rest of the British economy. In general, the industries now publicly owned carry with them a power too great to be left to private individuals without injury to the community at large. The quality and cost of the goods and services they render, the wage level and political power.of their employees, and the methods used to provide incentives to effort and innovation all influence conditions throughout the economy. The public corporation must therefore be entrusted to businessmen with the necessary experience and ability and a deep sense of responsibility to the community. They are nominees of the government and enjoy independence, within the terms of their character. A check upon their activity, so as to avoid any possibility of the detriment of the best interests of society, is achieved by making the relevant Government Minister directly answerable to Parliament for public corporation decisions involving national policy in (he economic and social sphere. Mr Thornhill examines in this excellent book the organisation and problems of the nationalised industries. The

author deals briefly with the concept, characteristics and history of the British public corporations and describes authoritatively the relation between the corporation, its Minister and Parliament.

The reorganisation and refinancing of the siek veteran industries, coal, steel and railroads, to make their efficient operation possible is also discussed. The rational provision of such services as electricity, broadcasting, airports and airways, and the logical public ownership of the Bank of England, so intimately connected with government policy, are all considered in detail.

A technical book, objectively written, concise, and packed with detail on public enterprise as it has evolved in Britain, this introductory text will prove indispensable to students of political economy. The detail to which the author examines the state ownership of industries will however prove tedious to the general reader.