Is water a fundamental personal right or a basic economic good?
Here is the second focus question: Is water a fundamental personal right or a basic economic good?
58 Replies
Water is a fundamental personal right; since every person in the world is considered responsible for the water supply, it should be considered a basic personal right. Also, ever since water was created, NO ONE SPECIFICALLY, was entitled to use it EXCLUSIVELY; or even to make money out of it. So water is certainly and should be a fundamental personal right. Also, no single individual should own water or the world's oceans; water is necessary for the survival of everyone. 
This post was edited on: 2011-10-11 at 10:44 PM by: rxp
This post was edited on: 2011-10-11 at 10:44 PM by: rxp
This post was edited on: 2012-04-23 at 12:02 PM by: rxp
I believe water is a personal right. We shouldn't have to pay for things we need to survive. Without water no living thing on Earth would be able to survive. If we have to pay for water then might as well start paying for Oxygen as well. Just as oxygen and food is essential to life, so is water! Water is a personal right.
This post was edited on: 2012-04-23 at 12:02 PM by: snarayan2
Water IS a fundamental right and it should not be seen as an economic good. Since it makes up 80% of peoples bodies, if they cannot afford it or access it, HOW ARE THEY MEANT TO SURVIVE? Making water an economic good doesn't seem like it would really benefit anyone but the people who are accumulating wealth from the water.
This post was edited on: 2012-04-23 at 12:06 PM by: gkinshukHA
I Think That everyone has the right to access water and should be a right for everyone. it shouldn't just be a money maker, even though people work, to get fresh water every where around the world, people shouldn't just care about the money, these are peoples lives out there, and they should get the same life as others do in other countries.
I believe water is a fundamental right. Everyone deserves a clean water source. Without one, we cannot expect people to be able to prosper or even just to survive in there environment/area.
This post was edited on: 2012-04-23 at 12:05 PM by: EricV
Water is a fundamental personal right. As listed in the UN Declaration of Human Rights, every one is born free and equal in dignity and rights. Access to safe and sanitary water is a necessity to being a dignified person. No one should be subjected to preventable disease or dehydration due to improper water sanitation or resources. To be a dignified human one must be able to be of adequate health to worry about more than life and death. One's life is not able to be purposeful if they are not given the resources. To believe that water is an economic good suggests that those who cannot afford water are not entitled to a dignified life, that because they can't afford water, their lives are not worth the economic strain to provide it. Where you are should not define who you are. You do not get to choose where you are born, or what economic class you are born into. Those who are born into less-than-adequate living standards are not there as a result of their own choice. To deny them safe water is to deny them a basic human right. Everyone has the right to life, and if unsanitary water is threatening that right, we, as a global community, have a responsibility to correct that.
well water is a fundamental right in my eyes. everyone should have the right to water and the essential things to live.but i doubt everyone will see it that way there will be those people who try to make as much money as possible by putting a price on water.if we put a price on water there will be people who cant afford it. they will either die of thirst or be forced to steal or fight for it. i think putting a price on water will cause nothing but conflicts.
This post was edited on: 2012-04-23 at 12:23 PM by: IanW
This post was edited on: 2012-04-23 at 12:24 PM by: IanW
Water is a fundamental right because every person on Earth requires water to survive. No matter who a person is or how rich they are they will need water. Therefore it should not be something that we need to pay for it. No single individual should own water it should be for the benefit of the world as a whole.
This post was edited on: 2012-04-23 at 12:02 PM by: ZeynepO
The example that snarayan2 gave is a very good one to add to the importance of water. Like she said oxygen is required in order for us to survive so why should we have to pay for water if we also need it in order to survive?
Water is a basic human right! Something that, not just humans need, but every living thing on this earth need should not be owned by a group of people.
Every single person should have the right to free and clean water. >:-(
Although that water seems to be treated as a basic economic good, I believe that every human has a need of water and it should be given as a right.
I think that water is a fundamental right for every human being. Everyone in the world needs water to live, so it is a basic human right.
Water is definitely a right. Everyone deserves to have clean water. You need it to live, and everyone deserves the opportunity to live
Water is a fundamental person right because everyone should be intitled to fresh clean water, it is a need to survive.
I believe that water is an economic good. In Canada, fresh water is in our territory, therefore, it's our resource just as the oil that is here is ours. If other countries don't have access to water, isn't it their governments responsibility to provide that for the people there? Why should it be our responsibility to take care of people on the other side of the world. If we were to give all of our water to other countries, we wouldn't have enough to support ourselves.
Water is a fundamental personal right for everybody on Earth. Everyone deserves a fighting chance at life, which means that everyone should be entitled to clean and healthy water.
Personally, I think water is both. It is an economic good because it is in Canda's territory and mostly controlled by the government. It shouldn't be a single persons' right to give water to forgien countires or people because WE need it and the government contorl it. If the government wishes to give water, then by all means go for it. It is however a personal right as well. Each and every person needs water to live, we're made mostly of it in the first place! Water is essential to live and everyone has a personal right to their water.
I think water is a fundamental personal right, because we citizens of Canada all have rights, and water being a natural resource should therefore be a natural supply. Everyone should be allowed to make use of water, each and every individual desereves it. You need water to survive, thats why its right that everyone is able to contain any amount of a supply of water.
I believe that water is both a fundamental personal right and a basic economical good. It is needed for life and all humans should have the right of access to the resource. Water is also a economical good because it is the life line or the basic start of most of the worlds natural resources like oil. without water our industry systems across the world would not be possible.
I think that water is a fundamental right because it is one of the basic needs humans need to survive, but on the other hand economies could easily prosper from the selling of water..
Considering water is a need that all living things must have to survive, I strongly believe that water should be a material that is a fundamental right to all man kind. If our bodies physically need something to live, it is only right that it is given to all people at no cost therefore giving all people an equal advantage to life.
Water: Fundamental Human right, i agree.
Something that every living being in on the entire planet (that includes you) not just needs, but creates within itself, ya.
Fyi humans create water within their own body via cellular respiration,we still need to consume water though. I do believe it is a right. That does not mean that water plentiful country needs to willingly fork over water to a place that lacks it. Something of note: The adjective clean was never stated in question, nor was it proceeding the noun water.
Water is a fundamental right to every human being. We all deserve to live and thrive on this planet therefore we need water to keep us alive.
I think that water is a personal right as long as that doesn't mean exporting Canada's fresh water supply to other places, I don't think it is in our national intrest to share our water!
Water is a fundamental right for everyone, but if Canada was to export water to every other country that needs water we would quickly run out and be stuck in the same situation. We should send water to other places that need it but there should be a limit and a price for the water that we export.
Water is a fundamental right. The reason why is because it is a very basic need for humans to survive. If we turn water into an economic good, those who cannot afford water or gain basic access to it, would slowly die of thirst. It would be condemning the poor to death. If we take our basic needs to survive and turn it into a economic good, we would be condemning a lot of people. Not to mention it would stir international unrest among the people of the world.
yes it is a fundamental human right, we need water to live, and nobody can just own water.
I do believe that water is a human right due to the fact that people need it to live, but it also can be looked at as an economic good because it can be sold to make money and strengthen the economy
I think that water is a fundamental human right not something to make money off of I believe that a need to survive should be free and divided equally to the population on earth because we all deserve access to clean fresh water.
Water is a fundamental personal right -- humans need water to survive; it's not an object that people use in their free time once every few weeks to keep themselves busy. Water is a resource that all living things need to survive & everyone deserves to have access to that need.
water should be considered a personal right that should be available to each individual.water is a basic need that should be available to everyone without a price.
I believe water is a fundamental right. access to clean and sanitary water is necessary need and therefore it is a necessary human right.
This post was edited on: 2012-04-23 at 01:23 PM by: Majd
i believe that its a fundemental right because you need water to survive.
Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and, therefore, a basic human right. Everyone, whether rich or poor, should have water without having to pay for it. Some cannot afford paying for water every single day, in order to live, so having their personal right taken away is like taking their lives away.
Water should be a fundamental personal right because everyone around the world should have access to clean water that should always be available to them because that is one of the basic needs in life and need it to survive and should not cost even a penny.
Water is a fundamental right because we require water to sustain ourselves. Water is the most important resource because people not only need it for drinking but water is also used for sanitation as well. Water help's farmers grow crops which also decrease's starvation in undeveloped countries.
I don't believe water is a personal right or as a basic economic good. All the water around the world isn't everybodys. People should'nt be able to come to Canada and bottle our water and take it for themselves without paying. Each region of the world has water which is their own and should be somewhat free for them and that can be sold to other places if they need it.
I believe that water is a fundamental personal right every human in any country, whether the country is developed or not, should have access to fresh water everday. Many countries like Africa don't have access to fresh water when us Albertan's use approximately 488L a day! Poor countries are suffering and people are dying from dehydration everyday. I agree with the UN's point of view according to them , "Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and therefore a basic human right." Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary.
Since water is a fundamental human need, it automatically becomes a basic human right. Every human being needs water in order to survive. Since water is getting scarce in some countries, (not canada), they need to use sanitation plants in order to reuse the water, or cleanse it.
Water is a fundamental personal human right as it is an important resource without which humans perish.
I believe that water is a personal right but it is a good idea for country's to sell the water to other countries that need water the most. I believe this because by selling our water instead of making our money off of only the oil sands we can decrease the rate of the oil we make because of the money we would therefor make from selling our water. This will better our environment and maybe rise our economy.
I personally think that clean water is a personal fundamentsl right. its essential for everyday life and without it people are dying.
I believe water is a fundamental personal right because water is what you require to survive .
me and my partner believe it is a basic need but also your right as a human being to have water. you need water to survive so it is a right and a need. people with less water and nonfiltered water have the right to water as well. they should be given more water.
Water is a fundamental right, no exceptions. Everyone needs water to survive. Making it an economic good only shows how greedy we are to put the lives of millions on the line just to make a quick buck or two. Everyone has a right to free and clean water, no matter who you are and where you live.
Water is a fundamental personal right. A person cannot survive without clean attainable water.
I believe that it is a basic economic good!Then canada and other nations that have alot of fresh water can sell that water to not as fourtante country's. That will help towards paying off our mass deficit and then putting money back into that country to fix the problems the country may have. Also, the oil sands in Alberta would then have to pay for the uses of the mass amounts of water they use everyday. This in turn will cause them to invent other ways other than water to produce the crude, they will want to invent other ways because they will be loseing money that they shouldn't have to loose. Or, the country's that are too poor to afford the water from other country's they could make a trade agreement to give them for example diamonds for water or other needs that the country with the water will want or need. =)=)=)=)=)=) <3<3<3
Water is definetly a fundamental personal right. Human beings need water to live. So why should there be a person or company that stands to make substantial profit on one of life's neccesities? Why make tons of money off of people's basic needs?
i think water is a fundamental personal right because it is something every human needs to sustain life. i feel that all the worlds fresh water supply should be divided evenly among the worlds population!
I think that water is a basic fundamental right and should not be sold for economic purposes. We should learn to use the water supply efficiently and a price should not be placed since it is a key to our survival.
I believe that water is a fundemental human right. All humans need water to survive. Water is what keeps us humans alive. I believe that water shouldnt have a price tag. Water should be accessible to every human on this planet.
I believe that to a certain point water is a fundamental personal right. People around the world should have enough water that they can live off of and be healthy with. After the basic needs of the people are met, then I think that it should become a basic economic good. The people that are dying because of the low quality of water, or complete lack of deserve to have a clean supply of water that they can use to keep them alive. When they start using an excess amount, we should begin to look at it as a basic economic good. But i do think that we should begin to make more of an effort to clean and sanitize the water in rivers and lakes that many of the people around the world are using now for drinking and other purposes.
Water should be more considered as a basic economic good, becomes it originates from nature, rather than being artificially created. If certain organisms drink water from lakes, rivers and ponds, than this means it is readily available to our society, which makes it a basic economic good.
I believe that water is a fundamental personal right simply because it is what makes up the majority of our bodies, and we need an abundance of it to survive. It is not only an economic good because it is not bought or paid for in all parts of the world, such as when people survive by collecting it from polluted bodies of water.
However, I believe that in developed countries like Canada, we should definitely still have to pay for our water because otherwise it will be taken advantage of and wasted.
This post was edited on: 2012-04-23 at 05:24 PM by: Christina
Water is a resource needed by everyone and anyone with a conscience would spare water to another person, as if it were their fundamental right. However if providing water to others puts yourself in danger then it is more likely to be treated as an economic good.
i think that water to an extent is a fundamental right. every person in the world has the right to clean, fresh water. without water where would we be? on the other hand water can also be an economic good as countries with water are not forced to give water or share water with other countries. if countries were forced to share water, how would they decide who to share it with and when and how would it be shared with those countries.who would regulate how much is shared and would countries disagree with sharing and decide not to listen to those people? But yes, water is a fundamental right that all people should have access to.
Water to a certain point, should be a fundamental right. I think that unprocessed water should be free and everyone should be able to drink it without having to pay. Take for example how some companys buy rivers and you'll have to pay to be able to get water. I think that isn't right and all water in it's natural form should be free and unable to own privately to make profit. However processed water must be pay for to recived. It would be extremely hard to support the amount of money used for this. Also if everyone gets clean water, our fresh supply would go down faster then what it would be right now causing alot of other problems. So I think that people still need to pay for clean water.
Roxan Priela
Oct 7, 2011 at 12:15 PM