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Comment by BurningFrog | Hacker News Reader

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Why do you call it “leftist jargon”? There’s nothing political about the word, it’s purely technical.

What specifically do you mean by it then?

Use a dictionary, or wikipedia. It’s faster and better than asking a random stranger to make up a definition on the spot.

In that case you're using it wrong, since it seems to be primarily about withdrawing ones economic activity from the market, rather than removing a particular good from the market [0]. I'm asking you because you seem to think you've read people who use the term rigorously, and I'm asking you to give a reference in some way shape or form.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decommodification

I only hear leftists say it.

Maybe because rightists aren’t interested in science?

It's just the opposite of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodification - that simple.

Commodities are available in large quantities, consistent quality, and low prices from many suppliers.

This seems ideal for important necessities like water, housing, food etc.

I think the idea is to make water like air, not to make it like art.

Air is free because there is more than enough of it for everyone, everywhere.

Water isn't like that, and there is no way to make it.

Air isn't free as such, either, because of pollution. The moment you pollute air you are degrading its quality, up to the point that certain equipment has to actively filter the air before using it. Also keep in mind that "pollute" for example in denser settlements can also mean smells, e.g. someone is constantly cooking stuff that strongly smells and you live "downwind" of that, would you consider air as "free" or should there maybe some limit to what can be done with it?

Why would you compare it to art, instead of steel or wheat?

I was clarifying the kind of non-commodity that decommodification of resources refers to

Oh, ok, that makes sense!

How could you possibly do that?

You are missing the most important part of the definition of what of commodity is.

It's about money. If you have a lot you can hoard commodities. If you have little you'll die of thirst, hunger, exposure...

> This seems ideal for important necessities like water, housing, food etc.

On the contrary, such commodities are regulated almost everywhere in the world to limit hoarding and speculation.

Decommodified water is just taking water from the commode and recycling it for drinking. The classic toilet-to-tap purification program.

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