Basic Human Needs

Human, just like any other living things, have basic needs. Some are vital for a human being, like the need for food, water, air, rest... Some aren't crucial but are still necessary for a person to actually live, like the need for companionship, love, caring... No matter who you are, where you're from, what age you are, what gender you are, you and me, WE ARE ALL HUMAN. And as human, we have basic needs that we want to fulfill in order to have a good and happy life.

Now i know some of you will think "but this place is about world issues, not human needs". Yes, that is true! But think about it. Why do conflicts even occur in the first place? It's because human's needs have been interfere with. So by understanding the basics of human needs, we can learn more about why issues in the world happened.

First of all, what are our basic needs?  Well,there are theories discussing what basic human needs are. I'm going to show you guys two theories about basic human needs that I really like as examples.

The first one is Maslow's hierarchy of needs, proposed by Abraham Manslow in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation". This chart has 5 different levels. The first 4 levels are basic needs while the last, self-actualization, are growth needs. A human must first fulfill the lower level before progress to the next one. Once these needs have been reasonably fulfill, a person may be able to reach the highest level. Every person is capable of reaching the highest level. Unfortunately, the progress is often disrupted by failing to satisfy lower levels.

The second one is John W. Burton's theory of basic human needs, based on his 1979 book " Deviance, Terrorism and War: The Process of Solving Unsolved Social and Political Problems". This theory, in Burton's view, is for understanding the sources of conflicts and designing conflict resolution processes.


Based on these two theories, we can have a clearer, more understandable view of world issues. An example of this is about the conflict in Iraq in my previous blog. What is the cause of this conflict? It started because the ISIS wanted everyone to follow their religion, which is Islam. Then the cause of this conflict is religious identity. John Burton's theory makes it easier for us to find out about causes to a conflict and therefore a way to solve it.

Another example maybe Africa. Have you ever wonder why Africans are usually poor? It's because they are still struggle to get food and clean water everyday, while also have to deal with dangerous diseases around them. Based on Manslow's hierarchy of needs, these people are still on level 1 and 2. And since they are still struggling at the low levels, they can't reach higher levels, where those needs can help them get a better life.

All I'm trying to say here is, all humans have basic needs. To fulfill these needs is to have a happier and better life. Sometimes during this process there may be disruptions. And it's these disruptions that cause many issues in the world.But once these issues are solved, everything usually becomes better. So by understanding these basic human needs, we can have a much clearer view of how conflicts are created and, more importantly, to know how to create a resolution.