Measuring Need-Satisfaction

Abstract

In Part II we have argued that basic needs exist which are objective and universal but our understanding of which changes, and typically expands, through time. We also recognised that these needs are met by innumerable specific satisfiers, which do vary across cultures. Here, we must again address the many problems which flow from this duality of universality and particularity. Can we articulate what physical health and autonomy mean in terms which are universal yet measurable? What does optimising need-satisfaction entail in practice? Can we devise measures which directly assess levels of satisfaction? These are the sorts of questions asked in this chapter. None of them is novel. Indeed, they have all been tackled in the rapidly-growing literature on ‘social indicators’, the ‘basic needs approach’ and the ‘human development’ concept. It is therefore with this body of literature that we begin our analysis of human needs in practice.