Needs and Wants

It is a common weakness among most people that they spend a lot of their income on things they do not really need. Materialism has led many people to forget the fundamental difference between needs and wants. It is important to consider the priorities when preparing the budgets.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Needs and Wants specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Psychologically, a need is a phenomenon that arouses an action to an organism towards a particular purpose. It is important to note that one person’s need may not be necessarily another person’s need. Other documented philosophies point out that a need is a representative of an individual’s cost in a society. This follows that an individual who is unable to meet his/her needs does not live properly in a society (Plant, Lesser, Taylor-Gooby 1980). The economic market gives the institutional framework to satisfy and articulate the wants. N evertheless, some writers assert that there is no real difference between the needs and the wants. These arguments have been utilized in favor of extending the market to what looks like a welfare section of the society. Needs are wants that the population already has but is not prepared to pay for it. This is the only way needs come into being in economic analysis and cost-benefit analysis. Needs are categorized as those desires that an individual is willing to pay for in order to get satisfied. The only way those needs enter into an economical calculation is by looking them as wants. In this way needs posses an economical value. This argument holds that there is no a clear cut distinction between needs and wants. Needs and wants are complicated concepts (Plant, Lesser, Taylor-Gooby 1980). Leiss identifies ways in which human being defines or interprets their needs. In his view, the primary distinguishing feature is based on individuals’ activities in relation to others. To understand the needs in a particular setting, â€Å"needs are expressed as a function of social patterns and/or framework of satisfaction†. Leiss differentiates false and true needs on basis of this argument. According to Leiss, â€Å"wants shows an individual’s subjective desire† while â€Å"needs express an individual’s objective requirements†. The distinction between true needs and false needs is the the difference between needs and wants (Leiss 1988). Drawing a demarcation between needs and wants depends on the definitions assumed for both terms. An individual’s need is a minimum requirement that is shared with other people in his culture. This need must be met in order to satisfy a person’s mental and physical health.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the other hand, wants are subjective in nature. Leiss puts forward an argu ment that wants are arbitrary desires reflecting an individual’s idiosyncrasies. This follows that wants are unlimited while needs are limited. This argument is supported by the fact that wanting is a subjective state and entirely physiological. Contrary to wanting, needing is an objective condition of being (Leiss 1988). In conclusion, it is possible to not know what we need, but we always know what we want. According to Leiss, this is due to the fact that wants come from our inner states. Under normal circumstances, the psychological need foe food, shelter and clothing is understood as most obvious dimension of needs. However, this argument is made trivial by the level of abstraction. Consumers make invalid decisions while preparing their budgets due to the nature of their wants. The distinction between needs and wants should therefore be utilized as a tool for changing the consumers’ behaviors (Leiss 1988). References Leiss, W. (1988) The Limits to Satisfaction: An Essay on the Problem of Needs and Commodities. Montreal, Canada : McGill-Queen’s Press. Plant, R, Lesser, H, Taylor-Gooby, P. (1980) Political philosophy and social welfare: essays on the normative basis of welfare. New York, NY: Taylor Francis. This essay on Needs and Wants was written and submitted by user Kristian West to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.