CONCEPT: Basic Needs

Basic Needs: Abraham Maslow's motivation theory, inextricably linked to his notion of 'hierarchy of needs', is an illuminating and still enticing approach to conversations about basic needs. Indeed, the 'twinning' of motivation and needs is practically unavoidable, regardless of the faults that one may find with either the theory or the hierarchy. 

At the bottom of his five-layer hierarchy are "physiological needs". Just above them are "safety needs". In this scheme of things, the most basic of all needs -- and "root drivers" of human action -- are physiological ones: the need for adequate food, water, shelter (or housing) and clothing (or essential body-cover). Safety needs -- that is, "ontological security" (Giddens) and "freedom from fear and anxiety" (Cooper, et al, 1998: 33) -- more-or-less follow. The two are, indeed, essentially overlapping and concurrent basic needs. 

Generically, our needs are built into our human condition and -- particularly with respect to the first three rungs in Maslow's hierarchy (the third being 'Belonging and Affection') -- underpin our survival and 'sociality' as a species. Our wants, on the other hand, are relatively optional -- important as esteem and self-actualization may be, to varying degrees, to individuals seeking a fulfilling and 'rewarding' life.