Letter

Political principles and the PFI

Dear healthmatters — I was shocked to read Martin Rathfelder’s review of Public Services or Corporate Welfare by Dexter Whitfield in the last issue. I did not recognise the book which I had enjoyed so much and found so informative and inspiring.

Rathfelder provides a very superficial overview of the arguments and very well researched information in the book. To suggest that Dexter’s book has a lack of coherent political ideology and little reasoning is laughable, especially — I’m tempted to say — when coming from the Socialist Health Association, a body not exactly known for these qualities.

It is incredible to me that Rathfelder seems to rubbish such a major work, which is well argued from a coherent theoretical base, and provides much useful and practical ideas for ways forward. What is most disappointing though, is that this review should come from a socialist.

Rathfelder concludes that he finds it hard to discern any genuine political principles at stake from the books he reviewed. Maybe that explains why I have never joined the SHA.

I’d have thought that democratic accountability, the running of public services for the people by the people, value for money, staff welfare and decent terms and conditions and opposing privatisation were all political principles worth arguing for.

I hope readers will not be put off the book by this review and will read it: it helps set out just what we are facing now and provides an alternative vision.