privateer

Etymology

From private + -eer, probably after volunteer.

noun

1. (historical) A privately owned warship that acted under a letter of marque to attack enemy merchant ships and take possession of their cargo.
2. (historical) An officer or any other member of the crew of such a ship; a government-sanctioned pirate.
   [from 17th c.]
3. An advocate or beneficiary of privatization of a government service or activity.
   This is a major victory, not only for CUPW because it will deter profit-hungry privateers from taking work away from CUPW members, but also because it gives union protection to those employed by the privateers. 1985, British Columbia. Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission, Summary of Proceedings, page 421
   Privateers, such as Osborne and Gaebler, promise that good competition will not become bad — will not become cutthroat competition — if good competition is "carefully structured and managed;" 2001, George Beam, Quality Public Management: What it is and how it Can be Improved and […]
   For example, when water workers leader Abelardo de Oliveira Filho says, […] investigations initiated by PSI in carrying out the mandate their members gave them to resist the privatization of water, to look into how the privateers worked 2012, David A. McDonald, Greg Ruiters, Alternatives to Privatization: Public Options for Essential Services
   Privatization advocates, or “privateers,” peddle the simple message that privatization is always good. 2013, Peter Downs, Schoolhouse Shams: Myths and Misinformation in School Reform
4. (motor racing, chiefly Canada, US) A private individual entrant into a race or competition who does not have the backing of a large, professional team.
5. (motor racing, elite championships) A racing team that is not a subsidiary of a large conglomerate, or automotive/vehicle manufacturer.

verb

1. To function under official sanction permitting attacks on enemy shipping and seizing ship and cargo; to engage in government-sponsored piracy.
2. To advocate or benefit from privatization of government services.
   The principle of collective bargaining has been a basic point of dispute; it infringes, as Perlman pointed out, the privileges associated with private ownership and management of property. […] These so-called charters were simply a license given to shady elements to privateer against the strong and growing unions. 1942, Valdimer Orlando Key, Politics, parties and pressure groups, page 95
   The objective of the privatisation law of July 1990 was to achieve an ownership structure similar to that in western Europe within five years, with approximately half of state-owned assets to be privateered in the first three years. 1995, Review of agricultural policies: Poland, page 75
   They are generally kept in "detention centers" in the Australian desert, or on islands in international waters privateered by the government. These are operated by private security firms, which are not subject to international agreements. 2004, Harvard Political Review, volume 31, page 31