A Study of Man's Needs and Wants

Consumerism is always considered as the central point of the culture of Americans. They tend to have a confusion between their needs and their wants. With the increased technological advances, and with advertisers’ help, the Americans are given simplified access to brand new and essential products in the everyday life, despite the fact that they have stood through this for a very long time without them. The three main basic needs are food, clothing, and shelter. No one can live without these. Most people must work in order to survive. Unless one is working at home, or within a walking distance, transport cost, as well as other expenses, must be addressed. As such, this paper should give a precise clarification and explanation in an argument format in the effort to compare the idea of NEEDS versus WANTS.

Historical context for American Consumer Culture

Consumerism is always classified as an economic theory stating that a gradually superior level of consumption is helpful to consumers. From the beginning of the 1800s accompanied by Industrial Revolution, the global consumption has been at a higher rate than ever recorded in the world history. This Revolution has led to a greater allowance of productions of enormous quantities. Due to the unheard of low cost, there has been the basic availability of products to consumers at a greater rate. Mass consumption arose from the unlimited access as well as competition. It soon developed that everyone wants to have possession of the latest appliance. A new philosophy came up, ‘Why Have the Old Model? The New One Was More Efficient?’ it made people buy appliance and products at a higher speed as people were considering appearance more than the function. Thus, consumption continued to grow. Compared to the combined total throughout, the amount of consumption of goods from the 1950s onwards has been greater than ever before in the global history.

History records five major stages of the consumer cycle. Extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal. As such, planned and perceived obsolescence powers the excessive consumerism in the American world today.

Causes of Consumer Culture

There are two main causes of that could have led to the possible consumer culture. The first being that the possible revenues were so huge as to participate of the surreal, to generate a climate whereby ordinary reasoning and far-sightedness seemed not to apply. In such prosperous of physical land when the route barreled over, what seemed worth was the long shots that could have paid more than a hundred thousand.

The second cause is that a presumption occurred with claims that America could continue booming-if not a forever-existing thing, then at least along one to give a sense of worry. As always, there could be another Homestead Act, another gold rush, another oil strike. The incoming generation could always ferret out chances that would stagnantly be more extravagant than any other than had experienced the same. America was these chances. This article was by strategy and not just by faith as claimed by many. The moment one banked on the incoming windfall, he or she could stake on his or her hopes as well as the self-esteem on it. As such, this led to the countywide turn of minds that that might be assumed helpfully as the habit of more.

The More Factor

Laurence Shames clarifies that Americans captivation of whereby they want everything as much as possible has helped by far in the building the character of the nation and this has been seen in America’s history. Shames gives claims that the so-called “ethic of decency” has been replaced by “ethic of success” in the American world.

As much as Shames has a valid point, lack of emphasis on decency as well as contentment in America should be given great consideration. Shames gives a suggestion that in the 1800s, America’s love of ownership and want was brought into existence.

The Wild West was a border that shaped chances that gave rise to more. Shames makes use of the expansion idea, the Wild West, as well as the boundary as a means to have a blame in creating backward philosophy. A philosophy where the Americans have developed a mindset of not stopping to “ Embrace values, hopes, ambitions that have to do with things other than more.

Shames continues to claim that the incoming border has been the economy and may also be Wild West’s last version. Through this statement, he simply means the Americans are running out of more to have. This makes shames think and develop a reasoning that with the lack of the more, the Americans might be forced to limit their expectations and develop an “ideal of contentment” for what they already possess instead of looking for that little bit extra, the more. As such, Shames simply condemns the idea of wanting and considers needs as the first voice.

Everything Now

Steve McKevitt in his article “Everything Now” states that “ The hunger for more,” has a driving fact that “our needs have been fulfilled and so, for the first time ever, we have an economy that is almost entirely devoted to the business of satisfying our wants instead.” This claim is strong but believes there are more strong things to do in the world than to just satisfy our wants.

Psychologists Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a commonly discussed theory concerning the human needs and the wants. He generated this theory in the effort to give an understanding of the people’s motivation apart from unconscious desires or rewards. In Mckevitt’s article, he states, “Visit your local supermarket and you will find around twenty different types of toothpaste to choose from… The same is true to whatever category from soup to soap operas… hundreds of virtually identical products.” (hugging)

A lot of people in the United States lack basic needs. In 2013, the Feeding America Organization website gave their results which were that 45.3 million in the US experienced poverty and 49.1 million lived in food insecure households. In a speech given by the Housing and Urban Steve McKevitt subsidizes public’s wanting the lot now to psychosomatic trickeries the marketing businesses develop our mind that our WANTS are actually our NEEDS. By selling the idea that these items are useful and are required, consumers are convinced to buy the desires NOW for a happy LATER. Maslow’s human development chart gives a description of how our inappropriate main concerns have moved. Individual contentment has been categorized at the top of the list and our basic needs (food, shelter, water), at the bottom. This shift qualities to that fact individuals today really don’t need everything any longer so driving our emphasis on wants.

In conclusion, having the two arguments in mind, it is clear that the most important factor is to consider the idea of NEEDS more than WANTS as per the two authors. Wants should be considered as a secondary factor when all the essential factors have been considered. As such, Shames would best fit to clarify for the Americans in the effort to condemn the move, especially with the consideration of the next generation. People in the American culture lack a mindset where one would prosper upon consideration of what he or she possesses.

Works Cited

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