The Essential Struggle
Popular resistance can turn water from a source of profits to a base for anticapitalist organizing.
The state of Michigan is finally addressing Flint’s lead-tainted water crisis by funding bottled-water distribution in the community. But residents aren’t out of the woods yet; much of the water distributed was donated by companies like PepsiCo and Walmart, effectively making a large portion of Flint dependent on the largesse of some of the world’s biggest and most ethically pockmarked companies for an essential, life-sustaining good.
This dynamic speaks volumes about how and why water has become a major site of contention both in the United States and globally. Is the future for the world’s poor waiting in line for a bottle of Dasani?
Hate that Dirty Water
The Flint crisis is the direct result of Governor Rick Snyder’s imposition of an emergency manager, who prioritized bond payments over local democracy and safety. Emergency management was also the culprit for the water catastrophe in neighboring Detroit, where the city shut off water services for about 40 percent of its residents in 2015 — many of whom were not even delinquent on their bills.
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