Privatising humanity

Kate Bayliss

• 26 mei 2026
• 9781526182999

Samenvatting:

This short, powerful book exposes how our essential services have become the assets of international finance, with devastating implications for the future.

We have entered a new era of turbo-charged financial extraction. Having amassed huge reserves, global finance capital is seeking out fresh areas for profitable investments. Nothing and no one is safe.

In Privatising humanity, Kate Bayliss shows how investment banks and hedge funds target our essential services, while simultaneously extending their reach into lower-income countries. When it comes to investments in these sectors, shareholder profits are funded by us, the end-users and tax-payers who simply wish to meet our basic human needs for water, warmth and shelter. We have no alternative but to pay into these structures that generate massive returns for the rich.

Unpacking the details of these processes in three sectors in the UK – water, energy and housing – Bayliss exposes the devastating consequences of this model, which is driving inequality to levels not seen in a century.

A powerful exposé of how finance turns our basic human needs into assets.

We have entered a new era of turbo-charged financial extraction. Having amassed huge reserves, global finance capital is seeking out fresh areas for profitable investments. Virtually all aspects of our lives are now targeted by someone seeking to make a profit.

In Privatising humanity, Kate Bayliss shows how wealthy investors, including asset managers, target our essential services. When it comes to investments in these sectors, shareholder profits are funded by us, the end-users and tax-payers who simply wish to meet our basic human needs for water, warmth and shelter. We have no alternative but to pay into these structures that often generate massive returns for investors and dysfunctional systems for society.

Unpacking the details of these processes in three sectors in the UK - water, energy and housing - Bayliss exposes the devastating consequences of this model, which is contributing to deepening inequality.