The Dialectics of Equity: Consumer Citizenship and the Extension of Water Supply in Medellín, Colombia

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In light of neoliberal prescriptions for a business-like approach to public service provision, researchers and activists have voiced strong opposition to treating citizens as consumers. On one side of the debate, it is argued that a consumer model for public services will lead to more responsible consumption, better allocation of resources, and improved accountability. On the other, such a model is said to jeopardize both the equity and quality of essential services. Yet, both of these perspectives rest on a binary analysis of consumption and citizenship that is not sustained by empirical observation. This article draws on studies of consumption in sociology and geography as well as a case study of water services in Medellín, Colombia, to explore the potential for a dialectical consumer citizen approach to public services. I argue that, for water supply, such an approach—rather than one that prioritizes either end of an often unhelpful binary—offers opportunities for regulated solidarity and differential responsibility in the achievement of collective goals. This means recognizing the role of the state in consumption, the unevenness of citizenship, and the limits of “choice.”