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#Post#: 362--------------------------------------------------
Re: #8: Rawson's The Nature of Water
By: ngood Date: February 25, 2019, 8:18 pm
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When it comes to resources, what's the difference between a
common and a commodity?
How does the story of water compare with Donahue's story of
grass, that essential resource in New England colonial farming?
A commons is for everyone (cooperation, community) and a
commodity is for those who can afford it (competition). As
Rawson notes, the difference in terms of water was in part the
distinction between a typical economy and a “moral economy”
(193) in which water, like air, belongs to everyone: “[W]ater’s
essential role in sustaining life made it closer in its nature
to air and sunshine than to other natural resources” (193).
Rawson’s story of water and Donahue’s story of grass are very
similar. Donahue discusses times in which land was shared by
several people to allow for grazing, and the land was degraded
by the influences of market-oriented farming. Similarly, several
advocates for public water in Rawson’s piece view water as a
shared element, and the desire for money meant that private
companies neglected the working class.
(And a random tidbit, since you know I gotta add something about
death: the Sheaf of Wheat and the Weeping Willow (mentioned on
190) were both two extremely popular gravestone symbols during
this time period, along with other natural imagery)
#Post#: 363--------------------------------------------------
Re: #8: Rawson's The Nature of Water
By: yzhu2020 Date: February 25, 2019, 8:56 pm
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When it comes to resources, what's the difference between a
common and a commodity?
A common (good) is item that everyone is not excluded from
using, though the quality of the item may not be kept to good
standards since everyone can use without paying. This mostly
applies to publics, such as public water foundations and
bathrooms. A commodity is a saleable good that is usually raw /
primary material, such as metal. When is comes to necessities,
they are usually commons or very low-priced saleable goods;
however, the prices can rise tremendously high during times of
crisis but of the severe lack of resources (law of demand) even
if the product is an inelastic good.
Rawson argues that water existed in a gray area between commons
and commodity; are you convinced?
I am pretty convinced that water is a grey area between
commons and commodity because you can both drink water for free
or buy it. People always want the best even when it comes to
necessities, so therefore water can also be made into a saleable
product (with high quality of course) as a commodity. In
addition, the only way of using water is not only drink it can
also be used in countless products (juice, makeup, school
supplies, etc.) Water used for drinking might be a common (in
some countries) but water is also essential as an ingredient in
many other products therefore making it also a valuable
commodity.
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