this guy actually has a point in his pyramid-like model of man's needs. he says, the physiological (food, water, clothing, shelter) needs which are at the base of his model, must be satisfied first. then the security need. it is when these two are satisfied, then one can dwell on his psychological need which will eventually lead you to the top - the self-actualization need.
why he makes a point?
basically it has truth to it. when i first learned this model of man's needs, it was just something i had to memorize for an exam to pass a particular subject. now i see it means more than that.
to survive, people need to satisfy their basic needs - food, water, shelter, clothing - and secure these and themselves. let's take the urban poor as an example, they aim to satisfy their basic needs through the income they get from their less than minimum wage paying jobs, which we all know is not enough to reach the daliy cost of living.
security comes form the community people live in, they make sure they and their belongings and their families are safe form being stolen or lost or burnt etc. these people are in constant threat of losing their security and basic needs because of the unsteady movement of the economy and the government, which affects all sectors.
satisfying their psychological needs is secondary, or should come after, however the filipino culture tends to satisfy the sense of belonging and fun in between all hardships.
am i'm getting to nowhere?
my point: only the rich think of being a better person, psychologically. those who have satisfied the physiological need and security need think they need to reflect on their lives, have a change or do something about their lives. (gets?)
one of my friends once noticed that lots of people these days have with them a copy of "Purpose Driven Life". i've never read this book and i dont know what it is about, but my guess from the title is that it's about making a change in one's life or lifestyle (I'm not really the into-God type). the book is not my point. i've seen lots of these kinds of books in the library and in the bookstore under the classification psychology or sometimes inspirational. besides the fact that these books are costly - did i say costly? that was an understatement. i meant very pricey - they do only cater to those who have plenty of time to think about what to do with their lives.
i'm NOT saying the urban poor can't do anything with their lives but work to satisfy the basic needs. they can, but just don't expect them to - drastically. i did mention that these people also satisfy their psychological need. they do it by celebrating, having fun, dying their hair, singing vidoke and all the fun stuff they like. they too have dreams to change their lifestyle, but not the way rich people can just get up one day and say "i want to change my life, i'm gonna be a better me!" theirs is a change of wanting their children to graduate and go abroad, their house built of cement instead of scrap wood and metal.
what i am saying is that those who do have the time to make the world a better place have to work together, and with the people who don't always have that luxury. thinking about a better Philippines is different from listening to what will make a better Philippines from the people who need it most.
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