Hierarchy of Needs

To live we need basic things in our life. These include the following pretty much in the order presented:

            Food

            Shelter

            Clothing

            Safety/Defense

            Social connectedness and order

As time passes these basic needs shift. New needs are added as social life grows in complexity. Eventually life roles emerge for each person as specialization of tasks become finer and finer. From gatherer of food, to finer points of hunting and trade, to agricultural science, to carpentry, plumbing…and the list goes on and on. Ultimately we arrive to modern day where we find specialists in engraving, jewelry making, entertainment, law…and the list goes on and on.

The ‘ultimately’ term itself continues to grow towards infinity. What we will be doing as a people 100 or 1000 years from now is yet to be known. But specialization will continue as it is needed.

If a catastrophe occurs – an asteroid smashing into Earth, for example – we may slip backwards to an earlier time of basic needs, re-establishing them. But eventually life roles will return to an ever finer specialization.

To bridge the present to the future we confront a varying list of issues to manage. This list will shift in size and scope continually. At any given moment it will appear static. For the eve of 2012 the issues list would look something like this: 

Key Topics List 

Energy Policy Needed – A Key Issue for ecology, geopolitics, economics, more….

            Get off the oil standard
            Invent new, sustainable forms of energy
            Create entire new industries based on alternative energies
            The ecology of clean energy

Education – A Primary Utility of Our Culture

            Pre school: getting an early start, foundation
            Inventing effective methods of learning, all ages
            Transformative high school education; turning kids on to life-long goals
            Higher education: inventive methods, full access, life-long learning
            Graduate education adaptive to new technologies, problems and careers
            Research, development and technology
            Arts and Culture: connecting the dots (synapses)

Economics – The Engine that Sustains Us All

            Job creation for all ages, interests and cultures
            International trade that enables full global participation; shares the wealth
            Adaptive to changing demographics, cultures and technologies
            Quality of life spread to all; equal access to economic benefits
            Invest in creativity, innovation, technologies, sciences, etc.
            Broad understanding of economics and political policies

Political Ideology – What we Think and Why it Matters

            Government: understanding its role and utility
            Campaign finance reform: government does NOT belong to the highest bidder
            Ideology relies on education; refute opinion with fact
            Healthy discussions build strong nations
            Bigotry is not an American ideal

Technology & Science – How we Interconnect the Facets of Life

            New technology means new patterns of thinking
            New technology means new ways of acting, achieving, manufacturing
            Technology delivers the future to us today

Health Systems and Delivery – Understanding and Strengthening the Body

            Keeping us well
            Recreation and training the well body
            Connecting mind and body health
            Medical research and extending the quality of life
            Financing access to medical utility

Spirituality – Connecting Intellect, World and Belief Systems

            Great philosophies of mankind
            Great religions of mankind
            Unfolding the mind’s grasp of the world surrounding it
            Understanding the universe; what we know of it – science and history
            Understanding the universe; what we don’t know of it – faith

These seven issues will be added to and subtracted from over time. The sub-topics for each will also morph as we need them to. But this is the world view as we move forward from here – this point in time.

What additional topics should be placed on this list? What have I missed?

In the ‘comments’ section of this blog, please feel free to add your key issues. As you do be mindful that your issue may be a new key issue not listed above, or a sub-topic that needs to be added. Present your ideas to make this list as complete as it ought to be. Then we can begin to work with the list.

For what purpose? I’m not sure at this point; but certainly to better understand our world and ourselves in the world. None of us have all the answers. No one thing or topic will control all the others. What we do with what we have does matter.

Making the most of life matters. What will we do to fulfill that premise?

December 28, 2011