Needs Versus Wants

The first step in winning the War on Consumerism is understanding the difference between needs and wants.

Consumerism confuses needs and wants so that we buy things we want as if they are things we need.

Advertisers and marketers are expert at making this confusion profitable for their clients. They make us think we need things that we actually only want, (often because we're persuaded to want them).

How often do we see ads that make us feel we need things from the highest levels (for example, a car that will get us the respect of our neighbors, or cosmetics that will give us confidence) when what we actually need is to make sure we are secure in our employment and are healthy.

Advertisers often work hard to make us feel that we need things from levels higher than where we are in our lives. We want them, but that is not a good enough reason to buy. So the ads make it a need.

from wikipedia

Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, explained that for most people the needs are the same. On the first, bottom, layer are the most basic needs for survival (the physiological, physical needs). Most people don't feel a need for other things until this basic need is met. Once they are surviving they need to feel they will survive in the future by being safe and secure. It is when these basic needs are met that people feel they need other things in their lives. For most people the next thing they need is to belong and be loved. Those who get this need met will feel the need to be appreciated and respected by themselves and others. The people who feel that they have security, love and respect then may feel the need to be creative, spiritual, and doing good.

The pyramid shape shows that while everyone needs to breathe, drink, eat and sleep, (the physical needs on the bottom of the pyramid) there are fewer people who need the higher level needs.

The shape also shows that when the bottom needs are threatened, the higher needs have no base. (Without air and water a person doesn't need love and esteem).

Another important point the chart makes is that there are many things that people need which are not concrete. For example, there aren't specific things that a person needs to feel belonging, loved, or respected. While the needs are real, their fulfillment are often in the mind of the person. Thus it is possible to have people's needs met by making them think a certain way about themselves and the things they do and have.