Debate: Consumerism in Public Services—For and Against

This article began life as a debate for MSc students in a public management class at Queen Mary, University of London, convened by the authors. In seeking to explain the significance of consumerism in contemporary public service reform, the authors took different positions on the normative appeal of consumer-oriented public service reforms. In this article George Jones begins by setting out the advantages of consumerism in public services. In the second part of the article, Catherine Needham sets out to rebut some of these purported advantages. In the conclusion, the authors identify some points of consensus and the key points of disagreement.