Basic Human Needs

We were discussing this in my Sustainability Leadership course and I think it is important for everyone to take a moment to think about what our needs really are. We all know that money and things don't give us happiness but I think we often forget about that on a daily basis.

Basic Human Needs - from Human Scale Development Theory by Max-Neef

1. love
2. creation
3. idleness
4. freedom
5. identity
6. protection
7. subsistence
8. understanding
9. participation

My take on this:

Obviously we all need to love and be loved. That is very much a part of the human experience.

Some people create more than others, but I think even those of us that are maybe not so creative, really do need to be involved in creation in some way - whether it be gardening, writing, knitting, doing art, dancing...whatever makes you happy.

Idleness is becoming harder and harder to achieve in our lives. For me, this takes the form of meditation, yoga, or sitting in nature, but it is something we all need more and more in our lives I believe.

Freedom - we need to be our own persons with freedom to live as we want. Humanity has not been very good at providing this need for all citizens over our history.

We all want to be unique and have our own identity. Yet, we all want to be some way the 'same' as everyone else to fit in. An interesting conundrum.

We need to be protected from the elements, disease, war, etc.

Subsistence - I think this is a no-brainer.

Understanding - we want others to understand us and we all eventually seek some understanding of our roles and lives on this planet. This is probably why religion has been so widespread - because we seek to understand our roles and relationships in this existence.

Participation - we need to participate in society and develop relationships and community with other human beings.