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The idea of want can be examined from many perspectives. In secular societies want might be considered similar to the emotion desire, which can be studied scientifically through the disciplines of psychology or sociology. Alternatively want can be studied in a non-secular, spiritual, moralistic or religious way, particularly by Buddhism but also Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
In economics, a want is something that is desired. It is said that every person has unlimited wants, but limited resources (economics is based on the assumption that only limited resources are available to us). Thus, people cannot have everything they want and must look for the most affordable alternatives.
Wants are often distinguished from needs. A need is something that is necessary for survival (such as food and shelter), whereas a want is simply something that a person would like to have. Some economists have rejected this distinction and maintain that all of these are simply wants, with varying levels of importance. By this viewpoint, wants and needs can be understood as examples of the overall concept of demand.
Examples of wants that people would like to have is financial monitoring, saving time, higher paying job, more comfort, healthier diet, physical fitness, spirituality, friendship, companionship and safety.
Non-secular perspectives
While in modern secular societies "want" is considered a purely economic, social-scientific or objectively psychological reality of human existence, many religious or spiritual traditions prescribe or advise with lessons on want and wanting, which might alternatively be termed "desire". Buddhism is perhaps the most common example of a religious tradition that offers wisdom and advice about the concept of want and wanting or "desire". The second of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism is that desire or wanting is a cause for most of the suffering experienced in life. When we want and desire, we create suffering that can never be alleviated, because as detailed in secular economics wants are "unlimited", and hence unfulfilled wants can cause suffering, in unlimited amount. Challenges to this dilemma might include anti-consumerism or Buddhist economics.
In Christianity, particularly Protestantism, want should be kept to a minimum, and a simple life of hard and decent work should be maintained, as described in the Protestant work ethic. From an economic-sociological point of view this might be understood as more value and energy being placed upon production instead of consumption.[citation needed]
See also
- Coincidence of wants
- Wish
References
- The Economics Website Retrieved February 5, 2009.
- "Basics of Buddhism". pbs.org. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Want news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message The idea of want can be examined from many perspectives In secular societies want might be considered similar to the emotion desire which can be studied scientifically through the disciplines of psychology or sociology Alternatively want can be studied in a non secular spiritual moralistic or religious way particularly by Buddhism but also Christianity Islam and Judaism In economics a want is something that is desired It is said that every person has unlimited wants but limited resources economics is based on the assumption that only limited resources are available to us Thus people cannot have everything they want and must look for the most affordable alternatives Wants are often distinguished from needs A need is something that is necessary for survival such as food and shelter whereas a want is simply something that a person would like to have Some economists have rejected this distinction and maintain that all of these are simply wants with varying levels of importance By this viewpoint wants and needs can be understood as examples of the overall concept of demand Examples of wants that people would like to have is financial monitoring saving time higher paying job more comfort healthier diet physical fitness spirituality friendship companionship and safety Non secular perspectivesWhile in modern secular societies want is considered a purely economic social scientific or objectively psychological reality of human existence many religious or spiritual traditions prescribe or advise with lessons on want and wanting which might alternatively be termed desire Buddhism is perhaps the most common example of a religious tradition that offers wisdom and advice about the concept of want and wanting or desire The second of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism is that desire or wanting is a cause for most of the suffering experienced in life When we want and desire we create suffering that can never be alleviated because as detailed in secular economics wants are unlimited and hence unfulfilled wants can cause suffering in unlimited amount Challenges to this dilemma might include anti consumerism or Buddhist economics In Christianity particularly Protestantism want should be kept to a minimum and a simple life of hard and decent work should be maintained as described in the Protestant work ethic From an economic sociological point of view this might be understood as more value and energy being placed upon production instead of consumption citation needed See alsoCoincidence of wants WishReferencesThe Economics Website Retrieved February 5 2009 Basics of Buddhism pbs org Retrieved 10 April 2015
