Privatized Warfare: or let's return to the Feudal System

So-called "Feudalism" was simply the extreme privatization of virtually all government services, including justice and defense. It was in the hands of nobles and to an extent not often appreciated, private entrepreneurs. Here's an example:

In 1141 King Stephen of England was facing serious problems maintaining control of the country. One nobleman, Ranulf of Chester, seized the city of Lincoln in a bid to extend his private control, assuming that since the king had no standing army there was nothing he could do about it. King Stephen fooled him by immediately raising what forces he could and marching to the relief of the citizens of Lincoln.

The force Stephen raised shows just how privatized national defense was. It consisted of Stephen's personal household guards, a force of powerful nobles and their household knights (answerable only to their lords, not the king), and a powerful force of mercenaries (the closest thing to professional soldiers in the army). When they arrived at Lincoln the city militia marched out to join them. Note that the militia was the closest thing to what we would understand as a national "army."

In the ensuing battle Stephen's mercenaries, by far the most effective of Stephen's troops, charged forward on one flank and smashed right through the enemy force in front of them. Turning around they saw their king (and employer) in the center battling a huge mass of Ranulf's men. Instantly making the decision that they had earned their pay for the day and it didn't extend to getting themselves killed, the mercenaries kept right on riding, clear out of the battlefield.

Stephen was in so much trouble because the nobles and their private warriors on the other flank had taken one look at Ranulf's men charging straight towards them with blood in their eyes, suddenly remembered they had other priorities and turned their horses and ran.

Poor old Stephen was left stranded with both his flanks gone and the enemy closing in on three sides. The only troops willing to stand firm were the Lincoln militia who, after all, were literally fighting for their homes. Most were slaughtered and Stephen was taken prisoner.

When he was finally released in a prisoner exchange Stephen decided that relying on private forces was not the way to go.


Well, as Seller and Yeatman would say, that's history as I remember it.

Fighting gov't waste by contracting it out

The waste, that is, not the government work (which for some odd reason citizens seem to like*). The mantra of conservatives has been for years that the private sector can do it quicker, cheaper and better. Having worked for the Feds and the state, as well as small businesses and a large corporation I can tell you that this is nonsense.

If you don't believe me, consider this column by the token liberal over on The Wall Street Journal. Here's a taste of it:

In the Bush era, the idea was pushed to a sort of extreme, with each of our great national initiatives – the Iraq occupation, Katrina reconstruction and the Department of Homeland Security – largely entrusted to private contractors. We now often read about federal employees quitting to work for private contractors to do the same job as before for twice** the pay. ...

One fact about government outsourcing is settled: It sure doesn't save money. A Washington Post reporter who scrutinized Katrina reconstruction contracts in 2006 found that "the difference between the job's actual price and the fee charged to taxpayers ranged from 40 percent to as high as 1,700 percent." To cover damaged roofs with tarps, certain contractors billed the government $1.50 per square foot of roof covered; some of the people who actually did the work got under 10 cents per square foot. Guess who kept the difference.

Privatization also constitutes a fundamental change in the constituency to which government answers. Journalist Tim Weiner estimates that, by 2006, about half of the people working for the CIA in Iraq and the National Counterterrorism Center were contractors, former CIA personnel accountable not to the American public but to their employers. "The spectacle of jumping ship in the middle of a war to make a killing was unremarkable in twenty-first century Washington," he writes in his book, "Legacy of Ashes." Among the CIA's new hires, he reported, the saying is, "Get in, get out, get paid."

The best government money can buy. And willing to pay any price for it.*** Government funded services are provided to meet a perceived societal need and no matter how poorly it is done, that is the goal of the government entity in theory. The only goal of a private firm by necessity is to make money. As much as possible. If not, the company ceases to exist. That's it: you figure it out.

Stay Tuned: the next post will be a brilliant example of the effects of small, privatized government on the battlefield (in AD 1141)!

UPDATE: Carmen this morning is furious with Wall-Mart, for screwing up her prescriptions, and her local doctor's office for sloppy work and unresponsive service: having worked for the Feds for 25 years she is walking around the house muttering about those idiots who think private industry is more efficient than government workers. She has a point. My point, in fact.

*Remember the government shut-down in the Clinton years? Repubs like Phil Graham were crowing about it until they realized that it was REALLY pissing people off. Then they tried to blame it on the Demos.

**For ex-military hired as mercenaries in Iraq the multiple is many times twice. See, among others, Imperial Life in the Emerald City, an infuriating and depressing read.

***How this is going to play with the OTHER great conservative mantra, "Lower taxes means more tax revenue" we shall leave to our children and grandchildren to deal with.