Man has always felt the need for something. In the primitive system, needs were primitive, but with the development of social relations, they became more complicated and differentiated. This article will discuss what is the need for the economy. This is precisely the category that underlies many different laws and theories. What classifications of economic needs and resources exist today?
Need is … (in economics)
First of all, you need to understand the essence of this concept. So, what is the difference in human needs?
Economics as an independent science arose in the 18th century, after the release of the curious work of Adam Smith called "The Wealth of Nations." Adam Smith, in fact, was the first to try to examine economic phenomena and processes in a scientific light. Already in this book, the author touched on one of the most important subjects of research in economic science - basic needs.
Economics is precisely that science, which is called upon to answer a number of exciting questions. What are the basic human needs? Are they boundless? And how can they be satisfied? But first of all, you need to find the answer to a simple question: "The need for the economy - what is it?"
This term can be interpreted both in a narrow and in a broad sense.
Broadly understood, the need for an economy is the desire of an individual (or group of people) to get a specific good that has a specific value for him. Moreover, the needs can be personal or social. The latter are precisely the focus of science such as economics.
The needs of society arise in the course of its development or the development of its individual formations. Moreover, their nature is largely determined by the conditions of specific economic relations.
If we interpret this term in a narrower sense, we can give the following definition: need is (in the economy) an internal motive that stimulates the functioning of social production. In addition, economic needs can be understood as a special category that reflects the whole range of relationships between individual members of society in the process of production and consumption of public goods.
Economics: classification of needs
In economics, there are several classifications of needs.
If possible, implement allocate:
- actual needs;
- solvent needs;
- absolute needs.
Depending on the subject, needs may be:
- individual (personal);
- collective;
- public;
- the needs of individual groups (enterprises);
- government needs, etc.
Depending on the specific object, the following types of needs in the economy are distinguished:
- Physiological (needs for food, water) and social (needs for education, communication, etc.).
- Material and spiritual.
- Primary (primary) and secondary.
In addition, all these types of needs in the economy are highly dependent on historical, cultural, geographical, religious and other features.
Maslow's personality needs pyramid
The pyramid of needs is a famous work of the American psychologist and sociologist Abraham Maslow. The idea to decompose all human needs into a hierarchical pyramid occurred to Maslow in 1943. He described this idea in great detail in his book Motivation and Personality.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs has the form of a pyramid consisting of five levels:
- Physiological needs (lower level) are thirst, hunger, sex drive and need for sleep.
- Needs for a comfortable and safe existence.
- Social needs (in education, love and respect).
- The need for self-esteem and recognition.
- The needs of the highest level are self-identification and self-actualization.
The essence of the hierarchical pyramid of A. Maslow is as follows: the satisfaction of needs of a higher rank is impossible without first satisfying the needs of a lower level. In simple words: a hungry person will not be interested in gaining the respect of others.
The law of growth of economic needs
It should be noted that resources and needs in the economy are very closely related. However, the needs of man and society as a whole are unlimited, while economic resources are always limited in their volumes. It is this contradiction that economic science is called upon to solve.
The essence of the law of demand growth is the following thesis: after satisfying the needs of a lower rank, the need for the next, higher level becomes relevant.
In a global sense, the functioning of this law is determined by general scientific and technological progress, the improvement of social relations, the development of culture and other, no less important factors.
Economic benefits are …
What is good? In a broad sense, this is something that can satisfy human or social needs. Benefits can be created both in a natural (natural) way and anthropogenic (that is, with direct human intervention).
Natural benefits include water, air, solar energy. The benefits that were created by man on the basis of natural components are precisely called economic.
The main property of any good should be such a quality as utility. In modern monetary relations, any good, as a rule, turns into a commodity.
Classification of economic goods
The diversity of social needs forces humanity to produce a wide range of economic benefits. In economics, they are all classified according to several criteria.
According to the functional criterion, the following benefits are distinguished:
- commodities (clothing, products);
- Means of further production (machine tools, various equipment).
According to the priority criterion there are:
- the benefits of basic necessities;
- secondary goods (luxury goods or art).
By a temporary criterion, benefits are distinguished;
- single use;
- prolonged use.
In addition, economic benefits can be personal, collective, public or state. In economic science, interchangeable and complementary benefits are also distinguished. An example of the first group can be two cars of different brands (for example, Peugeot and Renault). Complementary goods are those goods that are not able to satisfy needs alone. For example, it can be a car and fuel to it.
Economic resources
Economic resources are all those resources that are used to produce goods or services. In fact, these are the same benefits that are used to obtain other economic benefits. In the economic literature you can also find such a thing as production factors.
The thinkers of ancient Greece considered human labor to be the main economic resource. But the physiocrats called the land the key productive resource of the economy.
19th century English economist Alfred Marshall singled out a new type of economic resource - entrepreneurial talent. In the 21st century, such an economic resource as information (knowledge) comes first.
The properties of all, without exception, economic resources are their interweaving, interchangeability and mobility.
Classification of Economic Resources
Today, economists identify five main types of economic resources. It:
- Land (or all natural resource potential).
- Labor (labor resources).
- Capital (financial resources).
- Entrepreneurial abilities and talents.
- Knowledge (information).
