The Fox in the Henhouse

An activist and a philosopher discuss how privatization harms society and how we can challenge it.

Privatization has been on the right-wing agenda for years. Health care, schools, Social Security, public lands, the military, prisons—all are considered fair game. Through stories, analysis, impassioned argument—even song lyrics—Si Kahn and Elizabeth Minnich show that corporations are, by their very nature, unable to fulfill effectively what have traditionally been the responsibilities of the government. They make a powerful case that the market is not the measure of all things, and that a vital public sector is an indispensable component of a healthy democracy.

“If you care about your children’s education, the quality of the air you breathe and the water you drink, affordable health care or Social Security, you need to read The Fox in the Henhouse…. Kahn and Minnich have given us a blueprint of how to organize now and protect our country and our future.” —Jan Schakowsky, U.S. House of Representatives

“The Fox in the Henhouse…provides analytic tools for challenging corporate America’s sale of democracy, honors legacies of resistance, and moves us to a vision of hope and action challenging the privatization of our lives and dreams.” —Chandra Talpade Mohanty, educator and author of Feminism Without Borders

“Inspiring to read, this book will be of great value to organizers, activists, and citizens of conscience…. Nothing less than our democracy is at stake when extremists want to roll back our hard-earned rights. [This book] offers a spirited blueprint for all citizens who care about renewing America’s best and most generous traditions.” —Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor, The Nation

Si kahn has been organizing against privatization for the past ten years. The nonprofit organization he founded and directs, Grassroots Leadership, works to abolish for-profit private prisons, jails, and detention centers as a step toward establishing a system of justice that is truly just and humane.
Si began his social justice career forty years ago with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the student wing of the southern civil rights movement. In the 1970s he worked with the United Mine Workers of America on the Brookside strike in Harlan County, Kentucky, and with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union on the J. P. Stevens campaign.
Elizabeth minnich has been thinking, speaking, and writing about privatization, inclusiveness, and excellence in education true to the values of democracy for more than thirty years. She has spoken and consulted at colleges, universities, philanthropic foundations, and academic professional associations throughout the United States and abroad.