How does an individual’s definition of needs’ be differentiated from wants’?

Since the early 1990s societies have been infected by affluenza, a growing and unhealthy preoccupation with money and material things. This illness is constantly reinforcing itself at both the individual and the social levels, constraining us to derive our identities and sense of place in the world through our consumption activity. Economists assume that we know what we want, and that we are rational, so that if we have the opportunity and freedom to choose we will choose whatever gives us the greatest satisfaction. Therefore, one’s definition of needs’ or wants depends on one’s income.

People can be paralysed by too wide a freedom of choice, as they often choose badly, and even when people overcome paralysis and choose well, the thought of all those attractive options they have left on the table can undermine their satisfaction with the option they chose. The rich are therefore more vulnerable to these, as they have a powerful tendency to indulge in short-term passions at the expense to long-term interests. Hence, their definition of needs’ is mostly in luxury goods, where they can show off their status and backgrounds.

In impoverished countries, there is a lack of supply in their basic necessities due to corrupted government or poor climate. These people live on less than $2 a day, which is only enough to purchase daily necessities – food, clothes, water, as perhaps most of the money are in the pockets of the corrupted government who are unwilling to distribute it to improve welfare of the people. Therefore, the poor are stuck in this vicious cycle, due to the widening income gap between the rich and poor. Hence, the poor do not have the financial ability to indulge themselves in luxury goods, as they have to worry daily for their survival – the need to purchase daily necessities, in order to sustain a living.

However, there is not enough on this planet for everyone’s needs. Poor countries do not have sufficient medical care to meet basic needs, such as dental care. Even in rich countries, needs are not met too, as certain diseases like AIDS and cancers do not have a cure for it. Hence, conscious consumption, as opposed to no consumption, is the antidote to affluenza. It involves cultivating an awareness of why we buy or use things and understanding what needs we are trying to meet. People who have a better understanding of themselves are less prone to self deception and are able to see through marketers’ attempts to deceive them.

In all, one of the most valuable things parents can do for their children is to teach them to adopt a critical attitude towards marketers’ attempt to influence them. Hence, cultivating a conscious consumption from young, as they are able to differentiate between their needs’ and wants’.