The image above was made with stable diffusion using the prompt 'a thriving fruit stand.'
A common criticism of our economy is that it's designed to maximize financial profits rather than to maximize the meeting of human needs. Yet the idea of realigning our economy around our needs rarely makes it into public discourse. This omission isn't accidental. Such a realignment would represent a radical transformation of our total system and the control regime has other plans for us.
Even so, the prospect of an economy built around real needs is worth taking seriously. It would make life better for almost everyone and be far more sustainable than the current system, which is based on the impossible assumption of perpetual growth. As consumers, most of what we need has been stolen from us to coerce us into surrendering the value produced by our lives in exchange for money that can then be traded for the temporary satisfaction of some needs. Even if this system worked perfectly, it couldn't possibly meet all of our needs, because some of these can't be quantified. We are, after all, multidimensional beings.
Fundamental Human Needs
The first question that arises when exploring how to create a new economy around our needs is the question of what those needs actually are. While some favor Maslow's hierarchy, Chilean economist Manfred Max Neef created a much more useful taxonomy for understanding our fundamental human needs. It uses 9 axiological categories (subsistence, protection, affection, understanding, participation, idleness, creation, identity, freedom) and 4 existential categories (being, having, doing, interacting).
Each need can be met with one or more satisfiers. A single satisfier can also meet multiple needs. The needs for subsistence and protection are both primary and generally must be satisfied before other needs can be addressed. Here's how it all breaks down. Note that the need for money is nowhere in this list.
- Being satisfiers are individual and collective attributes that can be expressed as nouns.
- Having satisfiers are institutions, norms, mechanisms, laws, etc.
- Doing satisfiers are individual or collective actions that can be expressed as verbs.
- Interacting satisfiers are locations and environments.
Subsistence
Being: physical health, mental health, equilibrium, adaptability Having: food, shelter, work Doing: feed, procreate, rest, work Interacting: living environment, social setting
Protection
Being: care, adaptability, autonomy, equilibrium, solidarity Having: insurance systems, savings, social security, health systems, rights, family, work Doing: cooperate, prevent, plan, take care of, cure, help Interacting: living space, social environment, dwelling
Affection
Being: self-esteem, solidarity, respect, tolerance, generosity, receptiveness, passion, determination, sensuality Having: friendships, family, partnerships, pets, relationships with nature Doing: make love, caress, express emotions, share, take care of, cultivate, appreciate Interacting: privacy, intimacy, home, space of togetherness
Understanding
Being: critical conscience, receptiveness, curiosity, astonishment, discipline, intuition, rationality Having: literature, teachers, method, educational policies, communication policies Doing: investigate, study, experiment, educate, analyze, meditate Interacting: settings of formative interaction, schools, universities, academies, groups, communities, family
Participation
Being: adaptability, receptiveness, solidarity, willingness, determination, dedication, respect, passion Having: rights, responsibilities, duties, privileges, work Doing: become affiliated, cooperate, propose, share, dissent, obey, interact, agree on, express opinions Interacting: settings of participative interaction, parties, associations, churches, communities, neighborhoods, family
Idleness
Being: curiosity, receptiveness, imagination, recklessness, sense of humour, tranquility, sensuality Having: games, spectacles, clubs, parties, peace of mind Doing: daydream, brood, dream, recall old times, give way to fantasies, remember, relax, have fun, play Interacting: privacy, intimacy, spaces of closeness, free time, surroundings, landscapes
Creation
Being: passion, determination, intuition, imagination, boldness, rationality, autonomy, inventiveness, curiosity Having: abilities, skills, method, work Doing: work, invent, build, design, compose, interpret Interacting: productive and feedback settings, workshops, cultural groups, audiences, spaces for expression, temporal freedom
Identity
Being: sense of belonging, consistency, differentiation, self-esteem, assertiveness Having: symbols, language, religion, habits, customs, reference groups, sexuality, values, norms, historical memory, work Doing: commit oneself, integrate oneself, confront, decide on, get to know oneself, recognize oneself, actualize oneself, grow Interacting: social rhythms, everyday settings, settings which one belongs to, maturation stages
Freedom
Being: autonomy, self-esteem, determination, passion, assertiveness, open-mindedness, boldness, rebelliousness, tolerance Having: equal rights Doing: dissent, choose, be different from, run risks, develop awareness, commit oneself, disobey Interacting: temporal/spatial plasticity
A Great System
Assessing needs and determining what satisfiers meet those needs is a largely subjective process. No system based on this framework can decide what meets a person's need, as this can only be judged by the person themselves. Even so, a great system could be based on this framework. A whole economy could be built on it.
The state could be responsible for guaranteeing subsistence and protection, while private interests could meet the other needs. Some of these private interests would be for-profit enterprises, but many would be groups operating for reasons other than profit. Generating needs assessments would have to be done in the right way. I'm thinking something less bureaucratic and more gamified could work.
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You can find all of my books on rstory.io
Read my novels: - Small Gods of Time Travel is available as a web book on IPFS and as a 41 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt. - The Paradise Anomaly is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon. - Psychic Avalanche is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon. - One Man Embassy is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon. - Flying Saucer Shenanigans is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon. - Rainbow Lullaby is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon. - The Ostermann Method is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon. - Blue Dragon Mississippi is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
See my NFTs: - Small Gods of Time Travel is a 41 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt that goes with my book by the same name. - History and the Machine is a 20 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt based on my series of oil paintings of interesting people from history. - Artifacts of Mind Control is a 15 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt based on declassified CIA documents from the MKULTRA program.