When the public need is not met by the private sector and market forces, it is time for strong government intervention.
From the book Big Ideas: The Social Crusades of Joseph E. Atkinson, edited by Michael Pieri:
Public Ownership
Joseph Atkinson believed that utilities should be run for the benefit of the general public and not owned by businessmen whose principal concern was profit. He favoured public ownership of gas, electric light, electric power, coalmines, oil wells, timber, pulp and paper, telephone, telegraph, radio, television, railways, airlines and streetcars.