Specific needs and ways to meet them. Human needs, ways to satisfy them, structures that satisfy them

Starting from birth, a person has needs that only increase with age and can change. No other living beings have as many needs as humans. To realize his needs, a person moves to active actions, thanks to which he better knows the world and develops in different directions. When it is possible to satisfy the need, a person experiences positive emotions, and when not, then negative ones.

What needs does a person have?

Everyone has primary needs, regardless of position, nationality, gender and other characteristics. This includes the need for food, water, air, sex, and so on. Some appear immediately at birth, while others develop throughout life. Secondary human needs are also called psychological, for example, it can be a need for respect, etc. Some desires are, as it were, intermediate, being at the boundary of primary and secondary needs.

The most popular theory that allows you to understand this topic was proposed by Maslow. He presented them in the form of a pyramid divided into five sections. The meaning of the proposed theory is that a person can realize his needs, starting from the simple ones themselves, which are at the base of the pyramid, and moving to more complex ones. Therefore, it is impossible to move to the next stage if the previous one has not been implemented.

What are the human needs?

  1. Physiological. This group includes the need for food, water, sexual satisfaction, clothing, etc. This is a certain base that can provide a comfortable and stable life. Every person has these needs.
  2. The need for a secure and stable existence. Based on this group of human needs, there was a separate branch, which is called psychological security. This category includes both physical and financial security. It all starts with the instinct of self-preservation and ends with the desire to protect loved ones from trouble. To move to another level of needs, a person must feel confident in the future.
  3. Social. This category includes the need for a person to have friends and a loved one, as well as other attachment options. Like it or not, but people need communication and contact with others, otherwise they cannot move to the next stage of development. These human needs and abilities are a kind of transitional stage from primitive to higher levels.
  4. Personal. This category includes needs that are able to distinguish a person from the crowd and reflect his achievements. Firstly, it concerns respect from loved ones and oneself. Secondly, trust, social status, prestige, career growth, etc. can be added here.
  5. Needs for self-realization. This includes the highest human needs, which are of a moral and spiritual nature. This category includes the desire of people to apply their knowledge and express themselves through creativity, achieve their goals, etc.

In general, the needs of a modern person can be described as follows: people satisfy hunger, earn a living, get an education, start a family and get a job. They try to reach certain heights, to earn recognition and respect from others. Satisfying his needs, a person forms character, willpower, becomes smarter and stronger. We can summarize and say that needs are the basis for a normal and happy life.


The needs of a person necessary for his life activity are water, air, nutrition and protection from environmental hazards. These needs are called basic because they are necessary for the body.

Basic needs differ from others in that their deficiency causes a clear adverse outcome - dysfunction or death. In other words, it is what is needed for a safe and healthy life (e.g. food, water, shelter).

In addition to this, people have needs of a social nature: communication in a family or group. Needs can be psychological or subjective, such as the need for self-esteem and respect.

Needs are a need experienced and perceived by a person. When this need is supported by purchasing power, it can become an economic demand.

Types and description of needs

As it is written in the 6th grade social science textbook, needs are divided into biological, necessary for anyone to live, and spiritual, which are necessary for understanding the world around us, gaining knowledge and skills, achieving harmony and beauty.

For most psychologists, a need is a psychological function that prompts action, giving purpose and direction to behavior. It is an experienced and perceived need or need.

Basic needs and human development (driven by the human condition) are few, finite, and classified as distinct from the conventional notion of ordinary economic "desires" that are endless and insatiable.

They are also constant in all human cultures, and over historical periods of time can be understood as a system, that is, they are interconnected and interactive. There is no hierarchy of needs in this system (beyond the basic need for existence or survival), since simultaneity, complementarity, and trade-offs are features of the satisfaction process.

Needs and wants are the subject of interest and form a common substratum for sections:

  • philosophy;
  • biology;
  • psychology;
  • social sciences;
  • economy;
  • marketing and politics.

The well-known academic model of needs was proposed by the psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1943. His theory suggests that humans have a hierarchy of psychological desires that range from basic physiological or lower needs such as food, water and security to higher ones such as self-fulfillment. People tend to spend most of their resources (time, energy and finances) trying to satisfy basic needs before higher desires.

Maslow's approach is a generalized model for understanding motivation in a wide variety of contexts, but can be adapted to specific contexts. One difficulty with his theory is that concepts of "needs" can change radically among different cultures or between different parts of the same society.

The second notion of necessity is presented in the work of the professor of political economy Yana Gou, which published information on human needs in the context of social assistance provided by the welfare state. Together with Professor of Medical Ethics Len Doyle, he also published The Theory of Human Need.

Their view goes beyond the emphasis on psychology, it can be said that the needs of the individual represent a "cost" in society. One who cannot meet his needs will function poorly in society.

According to Gou and Doyle, everyone has an objective interest in preventing serious harm that prevents him from striving to achieve his vision of what is good. This drive requires the ability to participate in a social setting.

In particular, each individual must have physical health and personal autonomy. The latter includes the ability to make informed choices about what to do and how to implement it. This requires mental health, cognitive skills and the ability to participate in society and make collective decisions.

Needs Satisfaction Issues

Researchers identify twelve broad categories of "intermediate needs" that define how needs for physical health and personal autonomy are met:

  • adequate food and water;
  • adequate housing;
  • safe working environment;
  • clothes;
  • safe physical environment;
  • appropriate medical care;
  • childhood safety;
  • meaningful primary relationships with others;
  • physical security;
  • economic security;
  • safe birth control and childbearing;
  • appropriate basic and intercultural education.

How satisfaction details are determined

Psychologists point to the rational identification of need, using modern scientific knowledge, consideration of the actual experiences of people in their daily lives, and democratic decision making. Satisfaction of human needs cannot be imposed "from above".

Individuals with greater intrinsic assets (such as education, mental health, physical strength, etc.) are better able to meet their wants and needs.

Other types

In their works Karl Marx defined people as "needy beings" who experienced suffering in the process of learning and working to meet their needs, which were both physical and moral, emotional and intellectual necessities.

According to Marx, the development of people is characterized by the process of satisfying their needs, they develop new desires, implying that in some way they create and remake their own nature. If people satisfy their need for food through crop and animal husbandry, then a higher level of social self-knowledge is required to satisfy spiritual thirst.

People differ from other animals because their life activity, work is dictated by the satisfaction of needs. They are universal natural beings capable of turning all nature into the object of their needs and their activities.

The conditions for people, as social beings, are given by labor, but not only by work, since it is impossible to live without relationships with others. Work is a social activity because people work with each other. Humans are also free beings, capable of reaching objective possibilities generated by social evolution during their lifetime based on their conscious decisions.

Freedom should be understood both in a negative sense (freedom to decide and establish relationships) and in a positive sense (dominion over natural forces and the development of human creativity of basic human forces).

Summing up, it should be noted that the main interrelated features of people are as follows:

  • people are conscious beings;
  • people are social beings.

Humans tend to be universal, which manifests itself in the three previous traits and makes them natural-historical, universal conscious entities.

Rosenberg's Necessity Model

Model Marshall Rosenberg"Compassionate Communication", known as "Hate Communication", distinguishes between universal needs (what sustains and motivates human life) and the specific strategies used to meet one's needs. Feelings are perceived neither as good nor bad, neither right nor wrong, but as indicators of whether human needs are being met or not. Essential needs are highlighted.

People also talk about the needs of the community or organization. These may include demand for a particular type of business, for a particular government program or organization, or for people with special skills. This example presents the logical problem of reification.

For the normal existence of a person on earth, he needs to satisfy his needs. All living beings on the planet have needs, but most of all they have a reasonable individual.

Types of human needs

    organic. These needs are connected with the development of man, with his self-preservation. Organic needs include many needs: food, water, oxygen, optimal ambient temperature, procreation, sexual desires, existence security. These needs are also present in animals. Unlike our smaller brothers, a person needs, for example, hygiene, culinary processing of food and other specific conditions;

    material Needs are based on their satisfaction with the help of products created by people. These include: clothing, housing, transport, household appliances, tools, as well as everything that is necessary for work, recreation, everyday life, knowledge of culture. In other words, a person needs the goods of life;

    social. This type is associated with the need for communication, position in society, a certain position in life, gaining respect, authority. A person cannot exist on his own, so he needs to communicate with other people. emerged from the development of human society. Thanks to such needs, life becomes the most secure;

    creative types of needs represent satisfaction in different artistic, scientific, technical. People are very different. There are those who cannot live without creativity. They even agree to give up something else, but they cannot exist without it. Such a person is a high personality. Freedom to engage in creativity for them is above all;

    moral self-improvement and psychological development - these are the types in which he ensures his growth in the cultural and psychological direction. In this case, a person strives to become deeply moral and morally responsible. Such needs contribute to the introduction of people to religion. Moral self-improvement and psychological development become the dominant needs for people who have reached a high level of personality development.

    In the modern world, it is very popular among psychologists. Its presence speaks of the highest level of human psychological development. Human needs and their types can change over time. There are desires that need to be suppressed in oneself. We are talking about the pathology of psychological development, when a person has needs of a negative nature. These include painful conditions in which a person has a desire to inflict pain on another, both physical and moral.

    Considering the types of needs, we can say that there are those without which a person cannot live on earth. But there are some that you can do without. Psychology is a subtle science. Each individual needs a special approach. The question is, why do some people have particularly pronounced needs, while others have others? Some like to work, others don't, why? The answer must be sought in generic genetics or in lifestyle.

    Species can also be divided into biological, social, ideal. The classification of needs has a wide variety. The need for prestige and recognition in society appeared. In conclusion, it can be said that it is impossible to establish a complete list of human needs. The hierarchy of needs is different. Satisfying the needs of the basic level implies the formation of the rest.

Types of needs and their classification

The classification of human needs is based on the principle of a person's orientation to a particular object, according to which physiological, physical, mental, communication, moral, spiritual, etc.

Physiological needs - in food, water, avoidance of harmful effects, etc. given to man by nature itself. Nevertheless, the nature of production, the social system and the specific conditions in which people find themselves leave their mark on them. The degree of their development, forms of manifestation, methods of satisfaction are modified and improved as the productive forces and production relations develop. For example, the need for housing has evolved from a simple need for a roof over one's head to a highly developed need for comfortable housing.

Physical Needs - these are external needs in relation to the body, for example, in warmth, housing. Physical needs also include purely physiological ones, in particular the need for physical activity, sleep, etc. They can be satisfied without the participation of material goods and services.

Mental needs - these are the need for affection, love, security.

The need for communication expresses the social nature of man and stimulates the development of personality. In communication, a person learns not only others, but also himself, masters the experience of social life. Communication with people enriches the personality intellectually and emotionally, stimulates the exchange of knowledge, experience, and opinions. As a result of communication based on cooperation and intersection of interests, a person's need for a being of the opposite sex acquires a new character, which becomes a person's need for a person. The need for companionship breeds friendship and love.

Moral needs - this is behavior that corresponds to the moral principles of society, goodness, truth.

public needs arise in the process of development of society as a whole, socio-economic groups of the population, its individual members; they can be divided into two groups: On the needs of society, determined by the need to ensure the conditions for its functioning and development. These include the need for public administration, providing constitutional guarantees to members of society, environmental protection, defense;

o personal needs arise and develop in the process of human life and act as a specific economic category that expresses social relations between people regarding the production, exchange and use of material and spiritual goods and services. Personal needs are also called the needs of the population. Personal consumption does not take place in production, but outside it, and includes the consumption of food, clothing, housing, etc. by people.

Depending on the sphere of human activity in which personal needs are manifested, there are two groups j of ethical needs - material (economic) and spiritual.

material needs - the basis of human life is food, clothing, housing. They were formed in the process of phylogenetic (evolutionary history of the species), socio-historical development of man and constitute his generic property. Material needs arise in the sphere of material human activity. The object of such needs is material goods and services (food, clothing, housing and home furnishings, utilities and household services, etc.). Material needs - part of physical needs, which is satisfied with the help of material goods and services (for example, the need for food, housing, clothing, etc.).

The actions of people are determined by their interests, primarily economic ones. The economic life of society includes production, distribution, exchange and consumption. The end goal of production is consumption. Production can only be normal if there is normal free consumption. Between production and

2.4. Types of needs and their classification

consumption is a complex, theoretically contradictory relationship, and for all the importance of production, it makes sense only if there is free consumption - the goal and driving motives of production that determine the volume, structure and quality of social production. The consumption of material goods is not unambiguous: productive consumption is a production process where the means of production (tools and objects of labor) are consumed, as well as human strength, i.e. there is a waste of his physical and spiritual strength.

If a product is created in productive consumption, then it is destroyed in personal consumption. In production, the means of production are consumed, and people consume consumer goods. The relationship between production and consumption is mutually conditioned, i.e. production determines consumption, but at the same time consumption determines production. Production generates the need for manufactured products, i.e. creates an impulse to consume. We can say that production always leads to consumption, which ultimately determines its volume and variety, and consumption actively influences production. When a thing is not needed for consumption, has lost its value as a useful product, its production stops. At the same time, the consumption of any products requires their creation, and as old needs are satisfied, it induces and brings to life new needs of people.

Spiritual Needs - the highest human needs, a sensual form of cognition of the beautiful, addressed to contemplation or imagination, aesthetic pleasure. They are associated with the spiritual activity of a person, which is understood not only as intellectual, but also any other activity generated by the internal state of a person. Consequently, spiritual needs are broader than intellectual ones. The range of such human needs includes both the need for the use of cultural values ​​(including architectural monuments, painting, concert performance, etc.), and the need for aesthetic pleasure (which can be satisfied both by material goods created by human labor and by nature ), and, speaking word-

you Engels, the enduring need of the human spirit is to overcome all contradictions.



Intellectual Needs - rational mental functions of the human psyche, cognitive processes in general - are born by the human mind and are associated with his intellectual activity. These are the needs for knowledge of the surrounding world, education, advanced training, various types of creative activity (including amateur creative activity). These needs are created by society, develop along with the development of a person, an increase in his intellectual level, and are acquired in the process of becoming a person as a person. The decisive role in this is played by the social environment in which a person lives and is brought up. This type of needs depends on the individuality brought up by society.

The need for knowledge a personality variable that reflects the degree to which an individual enjoys cognitive activities that require effort. The needs for knowledge are general (in orientation, knowledge of the world as a whole) and private (passion for knowledge of specific phenomena of reality).

The need for scientific knowledge is formed on the basis of the need for cognition, when cognition becomes not a goal, but a means of satisfying the need for creativity. A person with a high need for knowledge craves information, he likes to analyze complex situations, he enjoys solving problems, especially difficult ones.

The need for aesthetic pleasure occupies an important place in a person's life. Experiencing this need, a person seeks to make his life, rest, his life beautiful.

The contemplation of aesthetic values ​​in reality and art ennobles the personality, elevates it.

The need for artistic creativity It manifests itself in the fact that a person not only masters ready-made aesthetic values, but creates their new types and forms.

Social needs - the need to achieve a certain status in society and develop one's social value characteristics - arise in connection with the functioning of a person in society in the process of activity

Chapter 2

man as a social subject. Unlike physical needs, they are not set by nature, are not laid down genetically, but are acquired in the course of the formation of a person as a person, his development as a member of society. These include the need for social activities, self-expression, communication with people, ensuring social rights, etc. The need for social action stems from the conditions and way of life of a person in society. In a comprehensively developed person, all human needs are represented with the dominance of high social requirements imposed by personality. A social group, a labor collective represent a vital condition for a person, without which the satisfaction of many of his other needs and interests is unthinkable. A person experiences deep satisfaction when he finds an optimal place for himself in the team and receives recognition of his activities in the organization, and feels deep dissatisfaction if, for one reason or another, he is not recognized by the team.

The development of basic needs can be represented as follows:

About the need for activity - from the need for a "discharge of energy" to the need for work;

2.4. Types of needs and their classification

about the need for communication - from an indefinite need for another person to higher forms of attachment to a specific person (group of people);

About the need for knowledge - from elementary curiosity to a passionate search for truth;

o the need for rest - from the need for relaxation and sleep to temporary isolation from the usual forms of social life.

According to the degree of specification, all needs are divided into two groups:

O general needs - needs arising from any type of human activity. These include, for example, the needs for food, clothing, housing, education, information, etc. Each type of general need can be satisfied by different sets of specific goods and services;

o specific needs - needs, the object of which are individual goods and services, for example, the need for bread, meat, furniture, TV, books, etc.

General and specific needs are interconnected: each general need, as it were, breaks down into a number of specific ones, and a set of individual specific needs can make up one general one.

According to quantitative certainty and the possibility of satisfying the entire set of needs, they are divided into the following groups:

o absolute needs - express the desire to possess goods. They are not limited either by the possibilities of production or by the incomes of consumers, they are abstract and in nature, not associated with specific commodities;

About the actual needs - are formed within the achieved level of production. Like absolute ones, they are not limited by the purchasing power of consumers, but, unlike them, they are of a specific nature, i.e. aimed at a specific item or service that is produced and offered to consumers;

about solvent needs - are determined by the solvent capabilities of consumers, which distinguishes them from absolute and actual needs. At the same time, they are abstract in nature, like absolute needs.

Chapter 2

sti, i.e. reflect an abstract desire to possess goods in general (within the limits of consumers' ability to pay) without linking them to any particular product. Solvent needs, as a rule, are brought to the market and take the form of effective demand; o Satisfied needs - needs that are actually satisfied by goods and services, depending on the level of development of production achieved and the solvent capabilities of consumers. Solvent needs turn into satisfied ones when there are enough goods and services on the market, the consumer properties of which meet the requirements of buyers; otherwise they remain unsatisfied.

All of these needs are interrelated. Thus, absolute need, under the influence of the achieved level of production, turns into a real one. The real need, as a result of the distribution of the social product, takes the form of a solvent one, which is then brought to the market and satisfied through the acquisition and consumption of goods and services. Part of the needs of the population remains unsatisfied for various reasons - due to the insufficient level of development of productive forces, services, low incomes of consumers. With the development of social production, the improvement of production relations, the growth of incomes of the population, an increasing part of unsatisfied needs is satisfied. But at the same time, new unsatisfied concrete needs appear.

According to the degree of rationality, needs are divided into reasonable and irrational.

Reasonable (rational) needs - needs that correspond to scientific ideas about the consumption of goods and services, a healthy lifestyle of a person, and the comprehensive harmonious development of a person. They are determined by the level of productive forces and are formed in accordance with the law of increasing needs. For example, reasonable nutritional needs are formed on the basis of the knowledge and achievements of the natural sciences - physiology, biology, medicine - and are shaped by the science of nutrition. Reasonable needs are

2.4. Types of needs and their classification

socially useful needs, the satisfaction of which ensures the disclosure of the physical, spiritual and creative abilities of a person. These needs can be determined using rational norms and standards. However, all these norms and standards (with the exception of rational norms for food consumption, which are based on relatively accurate data from nutrition science) are very approximate and are conditional. But since nothing better has been worked out, they are now used to determine the boundaries of reasonable needs for individual goods, as well as to calculate the degree to which these needs are satisfied.

Irrational Needs go beyond reasonable, take hypertrophied, sometimes perverted forms. Such needs are called negative, and they are associated with the presence of something that interferes with normal life. It happens that in the attitude of even the most active people there is a desire to avoid something. Today, this is felt by many and is manifested in the protection of the environment, the protection of man from the external consequences of the development of technology. Irrational needs can develop simultaneously in a fairly wide range of people. The most widespread irrational needs are in nutrition; they are associated with obesity, metabolic disorders and diseases that appear as a result of this. Irrational needs include alcohol, drugs, etc.

Each person is characterized by a unique combination of needs. The value of a personality is determined primarily by what needs prevail in it and how they are realized.

There is a tendency to view need as equivalent to drive. This way of consumption expands the basic and biological needs. Equating a need with a drive endows the state of need with motivational properties. However, there are needs for which there is no craving, such as the need for oxygen, because the tension that a person feels when he holds his breath is not a craving for oxygen, but a desire to reduce the level of carbon dioxide.

TEST QUESTIONS

To chapter 1

\. What is the essence of human nature?

2. What determines a person's choice of value orientations, meaning, direction of all life as a whole?

3. Is it possible to isolate from the prehistory of mankind something essential that defines a person?

4. Tell us about the internal inconsistency of the stimuli of human activity on the example of the reflections of ancient thinkers.

5. How were the natural necessities of life considered in the Middle Ages?

6. Describe the views of modern thinkers on the nature of man and his needs.

7. Which philosopher argued that the origin and development of human needs is associated with the functioning of historically specific modes of production?

8. What did the theories of understanding of a person and his needs reflect in Western social science thought of the mid-20th century?

To chapter 2

1. Tell us about A. Maslow's pyramid of needs.

2. What properties and qualities of a person are taken into account when assessing the social and value characteristics of a person?

3. What motivates a person to activity?

4. What is the source of development needs?

5. What circumstance transfers the needs to the actual psychological level?

6. What human needs have a significant impact on his life, activities and behavior?

7. What principle underlies the classification of human needs?

8. List and describe the basic human needs.

9. What kind of needs are: a sensual form of cognition of beauty, contemplation of nature, aesthetic pleasure, etc.?

10. Describe general and specific needs.

§ 2 The needs of society and ways to meet them

What is a need

A powerful engine of the economy are the needs of society.

Needs- a lack or need for something necessary for the life of people.

Human needs are important distinctive features, which distinguish it from the rest of the animal kingdom. What are they?

First feature. People's Needs change historically quantitatively and qualitatively. These changes are noticeable during the transition from one era of development of the economy and culture of society to another. Take, for example, people who lived at the beginning of the last century.

They did not even imagine in their fantasies that there could be such extraordinary things that have become familiar to our contemporaries - televisions, computers, space stations and much more.

The second feature. Human requests are very change throughout his life. It is one thing for an infant who experiences predominantly physiological needs, and it is completely another for an adult who has mastered a certain specialty.

Third feature. People even of the same age very often have needs, requests, preferences do not match. It is no coincidence that in Russia there are popular sayings and expressions: “There are no comrades for taste and color”, “Tastes do not argue”.

Fourth feature. Modern civilization (the level of material and spiritual culture) knows multiple levels of needs person:

Physiological needs (food, water, shelter, etc.);

The need for security (protection from external enemies and criminals, help in case of illness, protection from poverty);

The need for social contacts (communication with people who have the same interests; in friendship and love);

The need for respect (respect from other people, self-respect, in the acquisition of a certain social position);

The need for self-development (to improve all the capabilities and abilities of a person).

The listed forms of human needs can be visually depicted in the form of a pyramid (Fig. 1.1).

Rice. 1.1. Pyramid of needs of modern man

It is especially important to say about image (external and internal appearance) of the future specialist. As for the appearance of a graduate of a technical school, college, he is usually influenced by the generally accepted norms of culture, fashion and other circumstances. The development of high qualities of his internal image, in which developed needs are manifested, largely depends on the student himself:

Erudition (reading, deep knowledge in various fields of human activity);

Developed intellect (creative thinking);

High culture of human communication;

Fluency in one or two foreign languages;

Ability to use a computer;

High moral behavior.

The 21st century is characterized by a comprehensive development of needs and a high image of specialists.

How does the level of needs of the members of society rise in the course of history? This largely depends on the interaction of social production and the urgent needs of people.

How are demand and production related?

The connection between production and needs is two-way: direct and reverse. Let's consider this connection in more detail.

Production directly and directly affects needs in several ways.

1. The level of production activity determines, in to what extent can it satisfy the demands of people. If, suppose, the country does not produce the required amount of goods (be it bread or cars), then the needs of the people will not be adequately satisfied. In this case, the growth of needs will become impossible.

2. The transition of production to a new level of scientific and technological progress radically renews the objective world and the way of life of people, gives rise to qualitatively different needs. For example, the release and sale of VCRs and personal computers causes a desire to purchase them.

3. production in many ways affects the way people consume useful things and thereby determines a certain household

culture. For example, primitive man was quite content with a piece of meat fried on a fire, which he tore into pieces with his hands. Our contemporary for cooking from the same piece of roast meat requires a gas, electric stove or grill, as well as cutlery.

In turn, needs reverse action for production activities.

1. Needs are a prerequisite and determine the direction of human creative activity. Each farm plans in advance its production of useful products, taking into account the identified needs.

2. Rising needs often overtakes production. It is noteworthy that garment factory workers are eager to find out in advance what new clothes are developed in fashion houses, taking into account the new level of needs.

3. The rise of needs gives them lead role in the progressive development of production - from its lowest level to ever higher ones.

The development of needs directly depends in several directions on the level of production. The latter experiences manifold reverse action from the needs of society.

The study of the interaction between production and needs makes it possible to understand the place and role of new needs of people in the circulation of economic goods.

What is the role of needs in the circulation of goods

First of all, it is important to pay attention to the special nature of the development of the economy - its circular traffic.

Just as the cycle of substances is constantly taking place on Earth, in economic activity circulation of economic benefits. Manufactured useful things disappear in the process of their consumption and are re-created in the same or modified form. Such a cycle is a prerequisite for the continuous maintenance and renewal of human life.

The circuit under consideration consists of five main links that are inextricably linked:

Rice. 1.2. Circulation of economic goods

Production;

Distribution;

consumption of goods;

K needs updating.

Now let's look at how the economic cycle works. The chain of inextricable dependencies between its individual links is clearly shown in Fig. 1.2.

Let us consider the cycle of created goods on a concrete example of a peasant economy. The producer first grows, for example, vegetables. Then he distributes them: he keeps some for himself and his family, and the rest goes for sale. In the market, vegetables that are superfluous for the family are exchanged for products that are needed in the household (for example, meat, shoes). Finally, material goods reach the final point - personal consumption. If the needs of a peasant family increase (in connection, say, with the increase in the family), then the production of vegetables will probably expand.

Now we can imagine the circulation of products in the most general form.

The beginning of the cycle is production - the process of creating useful goods. At this time, workers adapt the substance and energy of nature to meet human needs.

Distribution subject to income from industrial activities. The distribution process determines the share of all participants in such activities in the wealth created.

The benefits received from the distribution are often not needed for personal consumption in the amount received. Since people need completely different things, it happens exchange, during which the benefits received are exchanged for other things necessary for a person.

Consumption - the final stage of the movement of the product, which goes to meet the needs of people. As existing needs are met, new ones arise.

Needs are interconnected with all links circulation of blessings. In the process of consumption, there are new requests, which cause a renewal of production.

It may seem that the cycle of goods described here theoretically unambiguously characterizes the relationship between production and needs. However, in practice in many countries there are different options for the ratio of production and needs. What are these options?

What are the modern options for changing production and the needs of society

In the entire world economy at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century, there are three main types of relationships between production, on the one hand, and the needs and consumption of the population, on the other.

First option. In some countries, the long decline of the economy leads to a decrease in both consumption and needs. This process can be likened to a spiraling movement with decreasing circles, such as we observe, say, in the funnel of a whirlpool. Such a plight can be seen, in particular, in certain African countries (for example, in the Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia), where at the end of the 20th century. per capita income declined.

Second option. In some African and Asian countries, the output of a relatively limited range of diverse products is growing very slowly. In this case, the needs are traditional and only gradually expand.

The first and second options characterize a clearly abnormal correlation between changes in production and needs.

Third option. It is possible to recognize the simultaneous growth of the production of the national product and the increase in the level of needs and consumption as normal. The natural rise in needs in this case goes in two directions: vertically and horizontally.

The improvement of people's lives is manifested in the growth of needs vertically.

Prolonged economic disruption in a number of countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the 1990s. had a negative impact on the value of the national product (domestic production) per 1 inhabitant and on household consumption expenditures. For example, in 2002 (as a percentage of 1990) such expenses amounted to: in Belarus - 131%, in Kazakhstan - 60%, in Ukraine - 59%.

Rice. 1. . Elevation of the needs associated with the car

Such a change can be traced in the example of people's attitudes towards buying a car (Fig. 1.3).

Rise of Needs horizontally associated with the expansion of consumption by ever wider segments of the population of products of higher quality. This change becomes more noticeable the longer the period of time under study is. We find confirmation of this in Table. 1.4.

Table 1.4

Provision of the population of Russia with durable goods (per 100 families, units)

As the German statistician E. Engel established, if the income of the population grows, then it spends relatively less money on food products, buys more industrial consumer goods (shoes, clothing, etc.), and with a further increase in income, it acquires high-quality items and durable goods.

The most rapid rise in needs vertically and horizontally in the 20th century. characteristic of Western - economically the most developed countries. Here, the growth of production and consumption can be likened to an upward spiral with expanding turnovers.

All the considered options for changing production and needs have a common feature. They express in one form or another contradiction between what people would like to have and what the real economy gives them.

Contradiction between needs and production - main contradiction economic activity in any society.

In the next section, we will find out in what ways and means the main contradiction of the economy is resolved.

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