10/28/2015

Needs and Wants

What are needed and What are wants? 

We need a shelter, we need food, we need water. We need warmth in the winter and cool in the summer.

There are many wants that make all of the above nicer. But we all really just need the minimum of those things. 

I have a house, just the right size for us. It is larger than a lot of homes around the world. but it is also much smaller than many, too. Especially in the US. Americans want more room, though they, for the most part, have smaller families. The more room, though the more stuff people feel they need to fill up that space. 

What people "need" has changed slightly in the past few years. In the 1950s people started moving to the suburbs. People "needed" houses and cars because the lived far from the work. They needed lawn mowers and garden equipment to care for the suburban lawns. They needed lots of furniture and kitchen appliances. But in the 1950s peoples' houses were smaller so they didn't need as much stuff as people feel they need now. 

We have so much more technology nowadays and the media and marketers have done a good job convincing more Americans that they need this stuff. Not only that but since the gadgets are updated so often people need the latest model. 

It is sad that few people seem satisfied.