Conspicuous reserves: Ideologies of water consumption and the performance of class

Abstract

Water has multiple values across and within cultures—transforming it from basic substance to a vehicle of cultural identity. Water scarcity can be imposed by hydrological or by social exclusion; each reinforces the other. Yet, even under scarcity, hierarchies are not immutable. People use myriad tools to increase their share of water, including, at times, the expenditure of more water. In water‐scarce informal settlements and tenements in Delhi, India, people's conspicuous use of water not only increases their social status and economic power but also generates additional access to water. This article argues that broader transformations of urban Indian culture, such as its increased commitment to middle classness, are demonstrated through the conspicuous consumption of water as a form of economic agency. Economic anthropology's theories of consumption are valuable frameworks to challenge the way water expenditures are modeled and hierarchies are upheld.

The embedded economics of water: Insights from economic anthropology

“…Anthropologists also show that when water is assigned a monetary price, people do not always respond to prices points and consume water in predictable or “rational” ways. For example, some people conspicuously consume water as a highly valued economic good to display class status and prestige (Kaplan, 2007; O'Leary, 2019; Wilk, 2006).…”

The economic anthropology of water

“…While many scholars have shown how the process of commodification extracts water from its rich and diverse inalienable meanings (Linton and Budds ; Orlove and Caton ; Strang ), others demonstrate that—even as a commodity—water is central to negotiating social and political relations. For example, in this issue, O'Leary () investigates how residents of Delhi's informal settlements consume water in overtly conspicuous ways to perform and elevate their class status. O'Leary argues that conspicuous water consumption operates not only at community levels but also nationally as elites use water infrastructure to display India's “developed” status on the world stage.…”

“…Among the articles included in this special issue, six employ the hydrosocial cycle as an analytic framework (Graff, Branting, and Marston ; Harnish, Cliggett, and Scudder ; O'Leary ; Radonic ; Walker ; Wells et al ). Here we briefly discuss two of these.…”

Variations in household water affordability and water insecurity: An intersectional perspective from 18 low- and middle-income countries

“…Harris et al, 2017; Hay, 2021). This remains the case even as feminist political-ecologists critique the overfocus on gender as an analytic, without serious consideration for how racism, classism, ableism, caste, and other oppressions shape the lived experiences of water insecurity (Mollett and Faria, 2013; O’Leary, 2019). Without intersectional approaches: [A]nalyses are at risk of overlooking critical dimensions and spaces of water inequality and insecurity that disproportionately impact particular social groups .…”

“…Third, and as above, many studies examine the interlocking effects of racism, patriarchy, class, and caste on water access through qualitative research designs (Harris, 2008;O'Leary, 2019;Radonic and Jacob, 2021;Sultana, 2009Sultana, , 2020Thompson, 2016). Multi-sited, intersectional analyses using quantitative methodologies remain exceedingly rare (cf.…”