Self-Actualization under Capitalism LO14055

Sherri Malouf (sherri@maloufinc.com)
Mon, 23 Jun 1997 16:57:29 +0100

Replying to LO13988 --

I am afraid I could not let this one slip by unanswered!
>
>>I have often wondered why Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs doesn't seem
>>to apply in contemporary USA. Maslow believed that when a human satisfies
>>his physical needs of air, water, food, clothing, shelter, sleep, sex, and
>>security; he would then fill his metaphysical needs of belonging, esteem,
>>and self-actualization. To reach this pinnacle of metaphysical development
>>means human development within a family, community, industry,
>>organization, profession, or calling to such a high level that the
>>person's name becomes a pseudonym for excellence. But America doesn't
>>measure success in terms of self-actualization. The measuring stick is
>>graduated in terms of power, money and material possessions. This is
>>probably why the typical American gets stuck in a loop of amassing food,
>>clothing, shelter and material possessions instead of evolving upward.

I am under perhaps the illusion, that Maslow's hierarchy of needs has been
disproven by research conducted by David Mclelland. I also understand
that Maslow in his last book also states that it is not true. Mclelland
conducted research in many places from starving people to submariners and
documented upwards of 400 different motivations. But what his research
showed was that there are 3 primary human (read human -- cross cultrual
research spanning 50+ years) motivations (approximately 66% of the
population has one of these 3 as primary) power, achievement, and
affiliation. His work is the basis of McBer programs of old... And still
some active today. So I guess I disagree with your entire begining
premise. I also know that people are not ALL still into amassing THINGS.
In fact, people like Covey, and the guy with the big teeth (! -- I can't
remember his name) -- are making big bucks and it is about human potential
-- not amassing things. Also, I have had colleagues describe, and have
experienced it myself -- successful people saying they want more than just
things!

>>William Bennett, former drug czar, articulated it succinctly when he
>>recently said "unbridled capitalism is a problem to human beings. We are
>>constantly pushing our children and adults to buy things that they do not
>>need. We are making desires into needs and we are, as a result, not living
>>at the center. We are misreading the essential human condition".
>>
>>Others are joining Bennett and Sam Nunn in their "The National Commission
>>on Civic Renewal". A sister organization, "Civil Society Movement",
>>promotes the message that "The amoral, profit-at-any-cost, brand of
>>capitalism, has an effect on American culture that can be described as
>>corrupting and corrosive . . . Hollywood, Madison Avenue and Wall Street
>>too often put money before morality.

This is a different issue in that -- I believe -- American Corporations
are driven by profit at any cost. But those who can directly influence
direction represent a very small percentage of the American population.
In fact, and I have written this before, companies are making record
profits while Jane and Joe middle manager tough it out with less resources
and more work! Why? Because the profits keep rolling in for those that
benefit the most. Is that representative of the American population -- I
think not.

>>We are the most prosperous society in
>>history. We also lead the world in murder, violent crime, imprisonment,
>>children having children, divorce, abortion, single-parenting, teen
>>suicide, drug-consumption and pornography."

I see this as true because of our founding fathers. We basically say to
the world -- hey this is a place where you can be free and possibly make
it! We accept everybody (not to say that prejudice is non-existant) --
there is room for every belief, fantasy, and personality -- although we do
have our limits. We ARE a melting pot. Which means -- travel 10 miles
and the values change dramatically. It is a double edged sword -- our
freedom and our proclamation about basic human rights get us into trouble
too.

>>Humans are neither purely economic animals nor purely social animals but
>>have strong needs in both realms. A society that recognizes these needs
>>attempts to strike a balance instead of going overboard on the one thing
>>that it happens to do well. The results of our imbalance are wretched
>>dynamics which seductively enriches our standard of living while deeply
>>impoverishing our quality of life. The solution to this dilemma lies in
>>our commitment to put a human face back on capitalism by tethering
>>competition with ethics. We must keep in focus the fact that capitalism is
>>our economic system not our value system. We must start making decisions
>>which reflect values more lofty than the "bottom line", like Compassion,
>>Cooperation, Decency, Fairness, Generosity, Honesty, Honor, Integrity,
>>Justice, Loyalty, Professionalism, Respect, Responsibility, Self-
>>Discipline, Selflessness, Tolerance, and Wisdom. This is only a partial
>>list of the qualities that we have historically taken credit for! Now it
>>is time for us to walk the talk!

Again -- I beg to differ. We are an extremely diverse community full of
everything you describe above. I live and know many who live your bottom
line values -- they just don't make good news. Thanks for a good message
-- it's been a while since I saw something I couldn't resist responding
to...

Sherri
sherri@maloufinc.com Tel:603-672-0355
LMA, Inc Fax:603-673-7120

-- 

Sherri Malouf <sherri@maloufinc.com>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>