Political compass for the21st century

[Eric the Green]

(02-11-2019, 04:40 AM)Bill the Piper Wrote: As for Maslow's silly old pyramid: there were many people willing to sacrifice physical survival for idealistic values. I think it's enough to debunk this geekery.

Well, nice try! But I think your debunk falls just a bit short.

Those who can sacrifice have psychologically reached a high level on the pyramid, partly because they had already achieved satisfaction of those physical needs, so they can make that sacrifice because they have those higher values.

But a good point might be that we in prosperous countries overestimate the degree of satisfaction for basic needs that is necessary before becoming aware of higher values. Lacking basic needs can be an impediment, but many poorer people are happier without the pressure to satisfy more and more material needs that we are brainwashed to believe we need in a materialistic culture. Many people throughout history have pursued higher idealistic values without having the level of material well-being that prosperous people have today.

The question might be, why do we in a nation like the USA and some other anglo and industrialized nations today still obsess with the desire to be as greedy as we can be for mere basic needs, and don't look higher?

In any case, even if Maslow's theory is not correct on all points, this does not debunk the contention that the ideal of self-actualization is worthwhile, contrary to what someone said above.