Water which was available freely some 15 years ago is now bottled and sold for a cost. This process is called.

Commodification

The correct answer is Option 3: Commodification

The process of turning something that was previously freely available (like water) into a product that is bought and sold is known as commodification. It refers to the transformation of goods, services, ideas, or even resources into commodities—things that have a price and can be traded in a market.

"Commodification occurs when things that were earlier not traded in the market become commodities. For instance, labour or skills become things that can be bought and sold. According to Marx and other critics of capitalism, the process of commodification has negative social effects. The commodification of labour is one example, but there are many other examples in contemporary society. For instance, there is a controversy about the sale of kidneys by the poor to cater to rich patients who need kidney transplants. According to many people, human organs should not become commodities. In earlier times, human beings themselves were bought and sold as slaves, but today it is considered immoral to treat people as commodities. But in modern society, almost everyone accepts the idea that a person’s labour can be bought, or that other services or skills can be provided in exchange for money. This is a situation that is found only in capitalist societies, according to Marx."