Publicans and Privateers

American politics operates on many different axes, from conservative-progressive to populist-elitist. But one underappreciated axis is what one might call the public-private axis. At one end are the private-sector partisans who favor Big Business over government. Privateers, if you will, prefer government policies that give large businesses free rein to conduct their affairs as they see fit. Private enterprises get official recognition as partners with the government both as contractors and occasionally as insurers when the government needs help. Put abstractly, banks, media, and other industries get to be the prime movers of world events if they can achieve that level of growth, and Privateers see this as part of a natural, and even good, order.