Development to Fulfill Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Development is a noble goal. Theoretically, all people are equal and have the same rights. The founder of the U.N. Human Development Report Mahub Al Haq declared, “The basic purpose of development is to enlarge people’s choices… [and] to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives” (qtd. in Marks). Peter Uvin wrote, “Maslow is dead; there are no basic needs.” (123) It is certainly true that providing aid in the form of food and shelter temporarily does not constitute development. Maslow’s theory states there are five levels of basic human needs. In order from lowest level to highest are physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization. Each lower level need must be fulfilled to be able to move up the hierarchy and further develop as a person. Development cannot possibly aim to fulfill all of these needs, nor should it. Relief efforts in the form of aid attempts to fulfill physiological and safety needs. Development efforts aim to put social, legal, and economic structures in place to ensure people can begin to fulfill their own needs in the future. This does not invalidate Maslow’s theory, as Uvin suggests, but challenges the misconception that the purpose of development is temporary aid and shows that the true purpose of development is long-term sustainable growth. The concepts of poverty and the purpose of development can be seen in a different light when explained in the terms of Maslow’s theory of basic needs and self-actualization.
Poverty around the world can take many forms. Generally, poverty is equated with extreme hunger, homelessness, displacement and lack of security. These needs directly correlate to the first two levels of Maslow’s hierarchy. To alleviate poverty under this definition, physiological needs must necessarily come first. A person must have food, shelter, clothing, water and oxygen. This is just common sense. This is not necessarily development, but the lack of these things guarantees lack of development. A hungry and homeless person would certainly like to do something about his situation, but cannot begin to do so until he is no longer homeless and hungry. The importance of safety and security is often taken for granted in developed countries. If a person has food and shelter, but lives in a constant state of fear, they can never develop further. Fear can also come in many forms. Lack of security could mean a fear of physical harm because of war, but lack of security can also be construed to mean inability to own property. The key underlying assumption of the Theorem of Welfare Economics is the right of people to own and dispose of their property as they wish (Mahal). If a person is given resources with no hope of leveraging them, instability will always exist. It is crueler to give hope that will only be taken away. Better to remain in poverty than taste freedom and always know it is unattainable again. A person who is no longer hungry is not necessarily developed. Development does not happen at this stage. True development occurs when resources are sustainable.
Robert Chambers further characterizes poverty as a condition of deprivation. Deprivation is a pervasive state of being where a person suffers from chronic “social inferiority, isolation, physical weakness, vulnerability, seasonal deprivation, powerlessness, and humiliation”(qtd. in Uvin 123). These traits fall under the next two levels in Maslow’s hierarchy: social and esteem needs. Alleviating poverty under this definition is the true aim of development. The right to vote, choose a spouse, have dignity, and “the freedom of individuals to live long and live well” are essentially the fulfillment of these third and fourth levels in the needs hierarchy (Sen 5). If a person feels loved, respected and empowered, there is no need for aid. That person can help themselves. They can be considered to be developed.
The final level of the basic needs structure is self-actualization, the ability to reach one’s full potential. Development work cannot, even at its best, force someone to become self-actualized. The journey to becoming everything one can be is personal and a struggle for anyone, even in a developed country. However, reaching this level is impossible without development. With structures in place that ensure personal freedom and responsibility over one’s own life, self-actualization becomes possible.
Of course, a person can develop further and broaden their horizons. Appreciation of beauty and divinity are important and instinctive. Even the poorest person can feel gratification in the beauty of the sunset and feel the value of divine interaction. These are the basic truths of humanity that connect us all and prove our equality. Religion and family are all some people have. This explains the deep devotion and vulnerability to cults or sects among the poor. Development can bring people to a place where they can have a broader understanding of the wider world. This will increase their perspective and their options. A fully developed person becomes a partner who is able to perpetuate development, which is the ultimate goal of development.
Works Cited
Mahal, Ajay. ”Human Rights in Economic Thinking on Development.” Harvard University Extension
School. Cambridge, MA. 2 Feb. 2010.
Marks, Stephen. “Critical Assessment of Traditional Classification.” Harvard University Extension School.
Cambridge, MA. 4 Feb. 2010.
Sen, Amaryta. Development as Freedom. New York: Anchor Books, 1999.
Uvin, Peter. Human Rights and Development. Connecticut: Kumarian Press, 2004.
© 2010, Charity Magnuson. All rights reserved.