In Privatize This? Assessing the Opportunities and Costs of Privatization, Boston College Adjunct Associate Professor of Economics Richard McGowan, SJ examines the ideology and motives behind the privatization or nationalization of an industry. Based on real-world case studies, ranging from Spain’s privatization of its cigarette industry to Pennsylvania’s “state store system” for selling liquor, the book focuses on the central issues of privatization—profit versus public good, protection from fraud and waste—and shows how the recent economic upheaval has changed public opinion and public policy on privatization. Fr. McGowan, the author of six books on the interactions of business and government, contends that privatization—championed by the Bush Administration–continues to be a controversial concept, and is as synonymous with waste, cronyism, and fraud as it is with efficiency and competition.