blog




  • Essay / Discussion on whether it is right to treat water as a commodity

    Water, the seemingly simple resource composed of oxygen and hydrogen, is becoming more and more complicated and the years pass. This vital substance is not that complex in itself, but it is becoming a hot new product. Water faces an economic boom as global freshwater reserves become depleted due to overexploitation. Large companies are taking this issue into their own hands and making water their own product. The abundance or lack of water is often overlooked. Large corporations buy water rights and use it for their own economic benefit through 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 generate an influx of profits into a community or economic system. Water is considered a commodity but also a right. When looking at the rights of all humans declared by the United Nations, there is no right to water but there is a right to food and shelter. The right listed here makes me wonder if water falls into this category. In my opinion, food and water go together like bread and butter, so yes, water should be a natural public right, but some people argue otherwise. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayAccording to the article, privatization and commodification by an unknown author will lead to a deficit in the number of people who can receive water. Private companies will raise the price of water and those who can afford it will receive it while those who cannot will be deprived of this growing commodity. The question raised by this article is a very valid one and begs the question or is it acceptable to treat water as a commodity? I'm not sure and personally I don't know which is best, on the one hand people need to understand this water is not unlimited and our amount of usable water is decreasing. On the other hand, if it's too expensive, some people will struggle and that's not fair either. This unknown author also explains how "debt-ridden" communities may suffer because they will not be able to afford water nor will they be able to afford to hire companies to clean up properly their water. In Anup Shah's article Water and Development, he describes how the commodification of water affects poor communities around the world. Shah refers to a documentary in his article that gave him new perspectives. The documentary states that due to advertising of water as a commodity, multinational corporations have gained significant control. These companies only care about profit, so they don't think about the companies and people who are too poor to afford water. The documentary would also include how the World Bank provided support around the world to encourage countries to privatize water. The goal is to increase the efficiency of water production and filtration. Unfortunately, this has left poor societies behind due to rising prices. Many problems then arise for these communities. Shah talks about real-world issues such as: Poor farmers in Rajasthan, India, face huge water shortages because the Coca-Cola Company has withdrawn large amounts of water from wells and aquifers that relied on farmers. The author also mentions a.