Nationalization

Nationalization (British English spelling nationalisation) is the process of taking a private industry or private assets into public ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being transferred to the public sector to be operated and owned by the state. The opposite of nationalization is usually privatization or de-nationalization, but may also be municipalization. Industries that are usually subject nationalization include transport, communications, energy, banking and natural resources, though there are other areas and there have even been calls for the nationalization of the legal service.