Development and human needs

TL;DR: In this article, the authors state that fundamental human needs are finite, few and classifiable; and fundamental human need are the same in all cultures and in all historical periods, and that human needs, self-reliance and organic articulations are the pillars which support Human Scale Development.

Abstract: Human needs, self-reliance and organic articulations are the pillars which support Human Scale Development. A satisfier may contribute simultaneously to the satisfaction of different needs, or conversely, a need may require various satisfiers in order to be met. Having established a difference between the concepts of needs and satisfiers it is possible to state two postulates: fundamental human needs are finite, few and classifiable; and fundamental human needs are the same in all cultures and in all historical periods. When, however, the form of production and consumption of goods makes goods an end in themselves, then the alleged satisfaction of a need impairs its capacity to create potential. This creates the conditions for entrenching an alienated society engaged in a productivity race lacking any sense at all. An examination of the different fields in the matrix with their possible satisfiers demonstrates clearly that many of the satisfiers can give rise to different economic goods.