Discussion on Whether It is Right to Treat Water as a Commodity

Introduction: The Complex Nature of Water

Water, the seemingly simple resource made up of oxygen and hydrogen, is becoming more complicated as the years pass. This life-sustaining substance isn’t inherently that complex but is becoming a new hot commodity. Water is facing an economic upraise as our world’s freshwater supply depletes due to overuse. Large companies are taking this matter into their own hands to make water their very own product. The abundance of water or lack thereof is often overlooked. Big corporations are buying the rights to water and using it for their own economic benefit by privatization and commodification. A commodity is a service or good that has economic benefits. For example, goods like silver, copper, and oil are commodities. These items can be traded from one country to another and provide an inflow of profit into a community or economic system. Water is debated to be a commodity but also a right. When looking into the rights of all humans declared by the United Nations, there isn’t a right to water, but there is a right to food and shelter. The rights listed here make me wonder if water falls under that category. In my opinion, food and water go together like bread and butter, so yes, water should fall under a natural-born public right, but some people argue otherwise.

Discussion on Whether It is Right to Treat Water as a Commodity

According to the article on privatization and commodification by an unknown author, commodification will cause a deficit in the number of people who can receive water. Private companies will increase the price of water, and those who can afford it will receive it, while those who can’t will be deprived of the growing commodity. The issue brought up by this article is very valid and poses the question: is it okay to treat water as a commodity?

I’m not sure, and personally, I don’t know what’s best. On one hand, people need to understand that water isn’t unlimited, and our amount of usable water is decreasing. On the other hand, if it’s too expensive, some people would struggle, and that isn’t fair either. This unknown author also talks about how “debt-ridden” communities can suffer from this because they won’t be able to afford water or hire companies to clean their water properly. In the article "Water and Development" by Anup Shah (Shah, 2020), he describes how the commodification of water is affecting poor communities around the world. Shah references a documentary in his article that gave him new insights. The documentary stated that because of the advertising of water as a commodity, there has been a large control taken over by multinational corporations. These corporations only care about profit, so they don’t think about the societies and people that are too poor to afford water. The documentary was said to also include how The World Bank has given support around the world to promote countries to privatize water. The goal is to increase efficiency in their water production and filtration.

Unfortunately, this has left poor societies to be shut out because of the expansion in prices. Many issues then are forced to be faced by these communities. Shah speaks of real people’s issues, such as poor farmers in Rajasthan, India, who have to deal with huge water shortages because the company Coca-Cola took so much water from the wells and aquifers the farmers were relying on. The author also mentions a family from Bolivia that lives just behind a water plant but doesn’t have enough money to pay for the connection charge, which would be equivalent to nine months of the family’s salary. When looking at the information in the above paragraph, it can be seen that water is running out, and things like aquifers are being sucked dry. In class, we discussed the importance and function of aquifers. They hold fresh water in their layer system and allow us humans to tap into them and use their precious water. Unfortunately, as we discussed in class, these aquifers don’t fill up in minutes, days, weeks, or even years. It takes millennia to refill an aquifer, and our societies are using them as if the freshwater in them is unlimited.

Historical Context and Modern Investments in Water

Water being a commodity isn’t old news; it’s been around throughout history. An article by José Esteban Castro titled "Water is not yet a commodity: commodification and rationalization revisited" (Castro, 2006) explains how the selling of water for a profit has been around for a long time. The article goes on to talk about how Middle Eastern societies attempted to enforce equal rights to water sources for their people. The ancient Middle East also tried to protect themselves from private water companies. The societies had rules in place about water vending and gave the public the benefit of the doubt. I’d say these ancient societies agree with the point that water is a natural-born right to all humans. Investments in water have also become the new hot trend in today’s society. Big companies all over the world are looking to invest and some even privatize water themselves. James McWhinney wrote the article "How to Invest in Water: The ultimate commodity" and within the confines of those paragraphs, he makes some good points. James presents the issue of pollution and global water shortages. These issues explain the need for water as a commodity because businessmen and women see the shortages as an opportunity. In my opinion, making water a commodity is like Black Friday. We all know general toys and electronics exist and pay no mind to it, but when it becomes a limited quantity, prices go up. New toys’ prices skyrocket because businesses know they have a limited amount, and parents or family will get them for their young loved ones. Water is similar to the toys in today’s world. There is a shortage among us, and big investors and businesses see it as an opportunity.

Earth’s population is expanding exponentially and does not help stabilize national water usage. James McWhinney also presented in his article, "How to Invest in Water: The ultimate commodity," bottled water. This plastic container filled with the ultimate beverage will never lose its popularity. Why, you may ask? Well, I think it is because of its convenience. Because of this, people will never stop purchasing bottles of water. James McWhinney explains how the uprising in need for bottled water is on the uphill slope for places like China, Mexico, and some areas of the USA. He also writes that over the past decade, American consumption of this product has skyrocketed, leaving each American with around 200 bottles of water used a year. That right there is simple economics; the consumer's demand is rising, so in order to fulfill the need, the producer either makes more at the same rate or raises prices and keeps the amount equal. Commodification is a business, and big companies all over the world like Smart Water, Evian, Deer Park, and more don’t plan on letting their profits slip anytime soon.

Conclusion: The Ethical Implications of Water Commodification

Water is another thing on Earth that humans are destroying, and by making it a commodity, situations and viewpoints around the world are changing. Water shouldn’t be a business; it is a right for all people. Now I don’t think the production of water bottles should come to a halt, but water should be made available to everyone all over the world instead of vast amounts of it being wasted on things like animal agriculture, which soaks up a large percentage of our water and contributes to global warming intensely. As a society and inhabitants of this earth, we need to take care of our resources as well as the Earth’s resources and stop treating water as a business.

References

Castro, J. E. (2006). Water is not yet a commodity: commodification and rationalization revisited. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 49(2), 159-174.

McWhinney, J. (2020). How to Invest in Water: The ultimate commodity. Investopedia.

Shah, A. (2020). Water and Development. Global Issues.