One might say people NEED a subset of their “wants” fulfilled in order to value living at all…
Deny people enough of their wants for long enough and they will begin to want death…
I want to be free of pain… I don’t NEED to be free of pain.
I want to be loved… I don’t NEED to be loved.
Yet deny me those wants entirely and for long enough… and I imagine a want for death would emerge rapidly and it’s presence would pose a greater risk to my survival than any wound or infection.
By that measure, even ice cream can be as vital to survival as antibiotics… granted, in very rare circumstances, but still…
My friend Edward seems to basically understand,
that there is a clear distinction between want and need.
Anybody that can’t tell the difference, is confused.
As far as I am concerned, the word “need” means “that which is necessary in order to come as close as possible to the attainment of your highest goal” and the word “want” merely means “perceived need”. That makes it obvious that wants can, but do not have to, be bad. To want something means to think that you need something – regardless of whether you really need that thing or not. If you really need it, then your want is also a need, and therefore, it’s a good thing. If you don’t, it’s something you don’t need, so it’s a bad thing.
On the other hand, I realize that this is not how other people define those terms. As an example:
They aren’t explicit about it – it’s no surprise – but what they seem to be saying is that they define the word “need” to mean “what is necessary in order to avoid death within a relatively short period of time”. They do not say how short this relatively short period of time has to be but one can guess from their examples.
Without air, you die within 3 minutes. Without water, you die within 3 days. Without food, you die within 3 weeks. I don’t know about clothing and shelter but I guess these will take longer – months perhaps? Maybe even years? As for medical care, that depends. All in all, it seems like the relatively short period of time is around several months – no more than 6 months, perhaps.
With that in mind, being surrounded by people who love you, as mentioned by Mad Man P, is probably not a need because you won’t die without it within 6 months. But on the other hand, it is indeed something that increases your chances of survival – and considerably so.
Why would anyone want to live with only their need? By doing so, you decrease the chances of your long-term survival.
I think a “want” is merely a temporarily focused urge or goal - might be good - might be bad - good/bad not really in consideration. What will be achieved from the attainment might merely serve to qualm the independent urge - relieving an unsettled pressure (giving the masses free money so they won’t vote for the other party).
Needs are used as excuses to pursue wants - hiding the ill considered blind agenda (“It feels so good to hate - we need to destroy!”)
I am certain the moment you stop trying - is the moment you begin dying. But want only for what you truly need - beginning with realizing what is truly needed (beyond the obvious). Having a hope inspiring activity (an “aspiration” - a goal) is essential - else you merely weaken and wither away. A touch of fantasy is like sugar in the lemon juice of life - live a lot longer doing the necessities when they are even artificially more fun.
Bare minimum, basic needs are those things one needs to secure in order to avoid a penalty.
If the government penalizes something, they better not put obstacles in the way of avoiding it! That’s called baiting, entrapment, etc.
Examples:
preventing development of income-based housing while penalizing sleeping outside
destroying crops while penalizing feeding hungry folks
pushing end-of-life level opiates for emergency use you JUST got in trouble for overprescribing before the pandemic … leading to more addiction, overdose deaths, homelessness you try to sweep away
and here come the armed tax collectors to take what’s left
We need truth, goodness, and beauty. We can say no, try to fill those needs with junk wants, and become malnourished & starve our soul (& become parasites). Or we can want/choose in line with our needs (which is in line with others).
Not possible to do well apart from the infinite well that replenishes.
As a salesman, there is the concept of “good enough” and I feel that is often undervalued.
That’s what I think of when it comes to “need vs want”. There are people who want a perfect system. It’s often a sort of post-Christian hangover or a need for control. But the world is fuzzy. Let it be fuzzy. Yeah you want X but do you need X? If you need X, we have options but you have to sacrifice Y. We also have Y-focused options if that is what is actually important (happens more often than you’d think!) but oftentimes just having the Y road is sufficient for them to adopt the X solution.
Part of capitalism is a crisis of too many choices. Arbiters of capitalism, salespeople, serve the system by resolving those choices.
As a communist with strong authoritarian principles, I find it funny that people loop around to being told what to do but I will admit the velvet glove is nicer than the iron fist.