review on the shelf


WATERSHED MOMENT


Thirst – The global quest to solve the water crisis by Filippo Menga, published by Verso (RRP £16.99)


Water, water everywhere? In a challenging premise author Menga declares there is no global water crisis.


Instead, he believes, it’s a matter of distribution and ownership, now increasingly in private investors hands, such that in late 2020 it became possible to trade water on Wall Street through the futures market.


In Robert Tressell’s classic novel The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists air is sold. On this precedent it may yet happen.


Britain is the only European nation whose water supply is completely controlled by private companies. Investment has plummeted.


Yet, half the water used for our food production is employed overseas, leading to shortages there and a loss of nature.


Being ‘kind hearted’ characters these profit guzzling water companies have established charities to help the half of the world that lacks basic sanitation, resulting in one child dying every 15 seconds.


Well-meaning celebrities persuade followers to donate. But they remain silent about a capitalist system where 2,500 billionaires own so much wealth. Thus, they ignore that access to safe water, denied to two billion people, increases with income.


The book proposes solutions so that the abundant water we possess is better used – and that includes turning bottled water companies into public utilities.


But as we all know it would be better still to restore the public sector and for water to be managed by democratically elected governments.


An excellent read for anyone opposed to the greed of these ‘water bandits’ and the issues they still need to address.


n By Mark Metcalf


50 uniteLANDWORKER Summer 2026


Alamy


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