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.