Posted 1 year ago
NEEDS: SUBSISTENCE
This article is a follow up to our post : Fundamental Needs and a Creativist Culture.
by Arnold Beekes
As mentioned previously, the Twitter chat (about ‘subsistence’) will take place on Friday, November 12, at 4 PM CEU, 3PM UK and 9:00 AM Central. The hashtag that organizes our tweet stream will be #creativistchat. We recommend the very simple, easy-to-use Twitter application TweetChat to follow and participate in these weekly chats.
So, the first need in our series which we discuss is ‘subsistence’. To me the word was not immediately clear so I had to look it up.
The Merriam- Webster Dictionary defines it as:
1
a (1) : real being : existence (2) : the condition of remaining in existence : continuation, persistence
b : an essential characteristic quality of something that exists
c : the character possessed by whatever is logically conceivable
2
: means of subsisting: as
a : the minimum (as of food and shelter) necessary to support life
b : a source or means of obtaining the necessities of life
This already provides much clarity.
In the system of Manfred Max-Neef subsistence is described in four levels (like all needs):
Being (qualities): physical and mental health
Having (things): food, shelter, work
Doing (actions): feed, clothe, rest, work
Interactions (settings): living environment, social setting
You could therefore say that all these elements contribute to your life and living. Without any of these elements you will experience a serious deficit. Whereby I would say that the having, interaction and doing elements impact your health (the being level), either in a positive or in a negative way.
In most parts of the Western world we take these elements for granted. When I grew up in my family I was fortunate not having to worry about the availability of the having and doing elements. I didn’t even think about them. That was different with the being elements. When I was sick, my health became something valuable. And that disappeared quickly as I recovered. My mental health was challenged by the culture in our family. This culture could be described as militaristic. This caused me a lot of headaches. This culture is the same as what is above described as social setting (interaction level). This need was structurally not fulfilled for me.
The fulfillment of these needs changed when I left the family for study and later work. I hardly gave them a thought as they looked like a natural thing. I really took them for granted.
This changed again when I had quite a few personal challenges, including losing my job and house. This puts you in a complete different situation and the society immediately starts to stigmatise you. E.g. when you have no (regular) income you can’t get a mortgage and it becomes very difficult to find a house. Also because of that you will lose ‘friends’ and have to find new ones. When you have no job and hence no income all of these having and doing elements become a need and a critical need.
This is just my example and it indicates that your personal circumstances will influence the fulfillment of those needs. When your circumstances change, your needs will change. And what first did go without saying becomes a necessity. In essence, it is good to be aware of this and not to take this all for granted.
As a Creativist you have to be aware that only you are responsible for your life and work. And therefore you have to make continuous conscious choices (3xC) about how you want to live your life. And therefore on how you want to fulfill your needs. Nothing happens by itself, you really have to be the master of your own life. And therefore create it!
On the other hand, it was very enlightening for me to experience this. My life became much richer. And it was now driven from the inside-out. Continuously I have to remind myself that I am the captain on this ship called life. I can’t influence the wind, but I can adjust the sails.
And……..what is your experience? Are your ‘subsistence’ needs being fulfilled?
Notes