John Kay, one of Britain's leading authorities on the privatisations of the 1980s, writes in the Financial Times:
From the 1980s deregulation and privatisation swept around the world.
The men in charge were encouraged to believe they were leaders of
international business rather than chief engineers. Many traditional
professionals resented this change, or failed to adapt to it, and
sought early retirement. Others revelled in their new roles as
strategists, visionaries and deal-makers. They assumed the arrogance
and personal aggression they thought characteristic of business. The
transformation was encouraged by their new colleagues from the private
sector.
These changes had many good consequences and some bad...
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