PUB1501 THEME 4
Should only the government provide
public services?
From purely public services to purely private services
The private sector (including community institutions):
o Primarily responsible for providing individual services.
o Individual services are characterised by the following factors:
The recipient of such a service pays for it
Each service or part of a service has a price, namely a
unit price
Members of society who don’t pay for such a service
may be excluded from using the service
The service is exhaustible, in other words it gets less
as it is being used
Individual services:
Providing in a specific need of a specific individual or
group of people on a cost-recover basis.
The government:
o Primarily responsible for collective services.
o Collective services are characterised by the following factors:
The recipient of such a service doesn’t necessarily pay
for the specific service
The value of a collective service cannot be calculated
per unit and it cannot be sold per unit according to a
unit price to a member of society
Under normal circumstances, members of society who
do not pay for such a service cannot be excluded from
using it
It is not exhaustible
It is financed from taxes
The authority that provides the particular service is the
sole provider and has a monopoly
Collective services:
Providing in a general need of a community or society
on a cost-recovery basis.
, The government and the private sector are jointly responsible for
providing certain services.
o These services are called quasi-collective services.
o These are government services that have the characteristics
of both collective and individual services.
Distinguished criteria
The following criteria is used to determine whether a service should be
provided by the government or by the private sector:
Can society itself provide the services?
o Is it something that individuals in society will do themselves,
on their own initiative (sponte acta)?
o Will society itself in any case impose self-control on its
members (social control)?
o Social control:
Individuals usually find themselves within some
community or milieu.
This means that they also find themselves within a
framework of values that determine which actions are
socially acceptable and which are not.
What is the purpose of the services?
o “The reason for the existence of the private sector is to earn
maximum profits for proprietors and shareholders.”
o The fundamental purposes of public services provision is to
deliver a service:
In accordance with the needs of the community
On an equal footing to all those who qualify
Irrespective of the financial loss that may result
o Is the purpose of the service
To earn a profit
Or to meet the needs of society equally, irrespective of
the cost attached?
o “criterion of purpose”
Should only the government provide
public services?
From purely public services to purely private services
The private sector (including community institutions):
o Primarily responsible for providing individual services.
o Individual services are characterised by the following factors:
The recipient of such a service pays for it
Each service or part of a service has a price, namely a
unit price
Members of society who don’t pay for such a service
may be excluded from using the service
The service is exhaustible, in other words it gets less
as it is being used
Individual services:
Providing in a specific need of a specific individual or
group of people on a cost-recover basis.
The government:
o Primarily responsible for collective services.
o Collective services are characterised by the following factors:
The recipient of such a service doesn’t necessarily pay
for the specific service
The value of a collective service cannot be calculated
per unit and it cannot be sold per unit according to a
unit price to a member of society
Under normal circumstances, members of society who
do not pay for such a service cannot be excluded from
using it
It is not exhaustible
It is financed from taxes
The authority that provides the particular service is the
sole provider and has a monopoly
Collective services:
Providing in a general need of a community or society
on a cost-recovery basis.
, The government and the private sector are jointly responsible for
providing certain services.
o These services are called quasi-collective services.
o These are government services that have the characteristics
of both collective and individual services.
Distinguished criteria
The following criteria is used to determine whether a service should be
provided by the government or by the private sector:
Can society itself provide the services?
o Is it something that individuals in society will do themselves,
on their own initiative (sponte acta)?
o Will society itself in any case impose self-control on its
members (social control)?
o Social control:
Individuals usually find themselves within some
community or milieu.
This means that they also find themselves within a
framework of values that determine which actions are
socially acceptable and which are not.
What is the purpose of the services?
o “The reason for the existence of the private sector is to earn
maximum profits for proprietors and shareholders.”
o The fundamental purposes of public services provision is to
deliver a service:
In accordance with the needs of the community
On an equal footing to all those who qualify
Irrespective of the financial loss that may result
o Is the purpose of the service
To earn a profit
Or to meet the needs of society equally, irrespective of
the cost attached?
o “criterion of purpose”
