Comment by Calazon

The way I see it many HOAs are the opposite of privatization, at least when they cannot be opted out of. They control land, impose taxes (sorry, "fees"), have elected leadership, provide services, make rules that they have the power to enforce, and the only way to leave them is to move out of their territory.

In my eyes this is essentially the same thing as a form of local government, just on a smaller scale.