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Decommodification as a concept comes from the idea that in a market economy, citizens (and their labor) are commodified. Given that labor is a citizen's primary commodity in the market, decommodification refers to activities and efforts (generally by the government) that reduces citizen's reliance on the market (and their labor) for their well-being. In general, unemployment, sickness insurance and pensions are used to measure decommodification for comparisons of the welfare state (see Esping-Andersen 1990).

Decommodification is the process of viewing utilities as an entitlement, rather than as a commodity that must be paid or traded for. In effect, a decommodified product removes itself from the market, and can be associated with welfarism. An example of decommodification would be the removal of tolls from a toll road.

[edit] References and Sources

Gosta Esping-Andersen. 1990. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton.

More on decommodification of information can be found at this World Social Forum page.