Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of human needs has been studied and talked about since he first published his theory in 1943.

It is most interesting to see what is missing from Maslow's list of human needs. What is missing from the list are liberty and freedom.

I wonder why Maslow omitted these needs. Did he even consider liberty and freedom as human needs? Could he have been so apolitical to overlook something we promote and admire about our tribe? We talk an awful lot about how great our tribe is because we have freedoms. We even go to war to defend our freedoms, and go to war with the goal of promoting freedoms in other countries. If freedom is so important, why does Maslow fail to mention freedom as a human need?

I tend to believe Maslow may be right. I don't think freedom is as important as we make it out to be. I think we talk a lot about freedom just to make us feel strong and independent, when in fact we are more than willing to be dependent on others.

Eleven year old Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped from South Lake Tahoe in 1991. Her kidnapper raped her and forced her to live 18 years in Antioch, Calif. Dugard was 28, with two children, when she was freed in 2009. She had plenty of opportunities to escape, but chose not to. Her needs were being met. Freedom was not more important.

Throughout human history liberty and freedom was not part of human needs. Humans were dependent and subservient to the king, pope, or some idol. Their allegiance was to the safety and survival of the tribe, not the individual.

I think humans are afraid of freedom because it is a great measuring device of the individual. Freedom requires responsibility for choices and actions. With total freedom one may be exposed as a failure, or a success. There is no equality in freedom. In a completely free society many people would be ranked in a lower status. This ranking makes one feel threatened. The individual's safety, one of the highest needs of a human, is at risk. A low ranking person is less likely to find a mate, which is also one of the highest human needs.

People could theoretically have all of their needs satisfied if they were in a well run government coed prison, their cell a nice condo with a view.

Many people are willing to give up their freedoms for a promise that their other needs will be met. Freedom and liberty is not on their list of needs.

I doubt very much that the early American colonists would have gone to war with England if King George had promised them free food, shelter, health care, and education. Political liberty and the Declaration of Independence would not have mattered to them because the King would have provided them with their needs.

Charles Tolleson, Mr Needy