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Comment by goodpoint | Hacker News Reader

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goodpoint·

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

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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.

How could you possibly do that?

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!

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?

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.

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