A Progressive Cat That Doesn't Need to Catch Mice (Luis Ventoso in El Debate)

The proposal to create public supermarkets in Barcelona has reignited the debate over the effectiveness of state-run versus private management, with historical experience showing mixed results.

## Does the public sector work better? History doesn't always back it up

The idea that public management is inherently superior to private management, especially when it comes to providing essential goods and services, is a recurring mantra in certain political circles. However, history offers a more nuanced picture. Take the case of the Federal Democratic Republic of Yugoslavia, founded in **1945** under the leadership of **Josip Broz Tito**. Tito attempted a third way between Western capitalism and Soviet communism, allowing certain glimpses of private property. After his death in **1980**, the country's disintegration in the early nineties and the subsequent war revealed the fragilities of a poorly cohesive model. On trips made in the late eighties, it was possible to observe in practice that private bars in Yugoslavia offered a noticeably better experience than state-run ones, an observation that pointed to the efficiency and quality that often accompany competition.

Socialist experiments in general have tended to end in a distribution of mediocrity or, at worst, of misery, along with the creation of extractive oligarchies and a pogre erosion of freedoms. Despite this evidence, the left often insists on the superiority of the public sector. **Adam Smith**, the towering figure of liberalism, already explained in the eighteenth century that it is not the benevolence of the butcher or the baker that secures our sustenance, but their own self-interest. This maxim is reflected in everyday phenomena, such as the difference between public toilets at train stations which, when free of charge, are usually in a lamentable state, and those which, as at **Zaragoza** station, require a **1 euro** payment to enter and, surprisingly, display impeccable hygiene and upkeep.

This contrast highlights a fundamental question: which model is really more effective? If we compare the decadent public **Renfe** with private Spanish airlines, or the quality of cars made in West Germany by **Mercedes** and **Volkswagen** against the rudimentary **Trabant** of communist East Germany, the conclusions seem to point in one direction. Free economic competition, the creativity and drive of entrepreneurs are engines that ultimately benefit society, both through the diversity of offerings and the jobs they create.

## The public supermarket proposal in Barcelona

Against this backdrop, the recent proposal by the mayor of **Barcelona**, **Jaume Collboni**, to create public supermarkets offering more affordable products to citizens has generated considerable debate. After a meeting in **New York**, **Collboni** announced his intention to replicate a similar initiative pushed by a New York City councillor. The stated goal is to lower the cost of the shopping basket, although details on how this price reduction will be achieved, the expected level of discount and who will cover the gap with market prices —which will inevitably fall on everyone's taxes— have not been disclosed.

Spain already has an extraordinarily varied supermarket offering, both in the diversity of products and in the range of prices. There are chains that specialise in offering the lowest prices, the so-called **"low-cost supermarkets"**, and others that have struck a very fine balance between quality and cost. There are also high-end options for consumers with greater purchasing power. For this reason, the idea of public supermarkets, presented as a populist solution, seems unlikely to solve structural problems. Rather, it could be interpreted as a propaganda manoeuvre by a mayor facing serious challenges on security in his city, using the proposal as a smokescreen.

**Collboni**'s statements reflect a certain economic disconnect in today's left. Instead of supporting entrepreneurs and fostering the creation of new businesses that generate jobs and satisfy consumers, they are branded as making **"obscene profits"** and pursued with high taxation. The socialist supermarket proposal evokes images of **Castro**'s Cuba, a model far from being an example of prosperity. It is understandable that **Collboni** bets on the public sector, given that his professional career has developed entirely in the union and political sphere, at the **UGT** (a Spanish trade union) and the **PSC** (Catalonia's Socialist Party), without ever having had to earn a living in the private sector.

## Deng Xiaoping's pragmatism versus ideology

The famous phrase attributed to **Deng Xiaoping** in the late seventies, **"It doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice"**, encapsulates a pragmatic, results-oriented vision. **China**, after adopting this philosophy and opening its economy to the private sector, underwent a radical transformation, going from misery to becoming a global economic power. The key was prioritising effectiveness and the ability to generate wealth and well-being, regardless of the underlying ideology.

In contrast, the **Barcelona** proposal seems to want to invert this principle, suggesting **"a pogre cat, even if it catches no mice"**. This vision, which prioritises ideology over effectiveness, is worrying, especially considering **Catalonia**'s past as an economic engine in Spain. Today, the region seems weighed down by policies that are often perceived as histrionic and self-destructive, far removed from the efficiency demanded by the modern economy. The pursuit of tangible results, such as catching mice (or, in this case, offering affordable, quality products), should be the fundamental criterion for evaluating any economic initiative, regardless of its ideological leaning.