Commodification of water
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The commodification of water refers to the process of transforming water, especially freshwater, from a public good into a tradable commodity also known as an economic good. This transformation introduces water to previously unencumbered market forces in the hope of being managed more efficiently as a resource. The commodification of water has increased significantly during the 20th century in parallel with fears over water scarcity and environmental degradation. Central to its emergence was the view that public provision of water and government regulation of environmentally damaging behavior was ineffective. Commodification has its theoretical roots in neoclassical discourse whereby a good or service is assigned an economic value which prevents misuse. The commodification of water, although not a new phenomenon, is considered part of a more recent market-based approach to water governance which provokes both approval and disapproval from a range of stakeholders. Through the establishment of private property rights and market mechanisms it is argued that water will be allocated more efficiently.
See also
- Water resource policy
- Water privatisation
- Commodification of nature
- Accumulation by dispossession
- Tragedy of the commons
- Neoliberalism
- Capitalism
- Human needs
- Blue Gold: World Water Wars
