Abraham Maslow's Psychological Hierarchy of Needs

In 1943, a psychologist, Abraham Maslow, proposed that man's innate curiosity, being ingrained into his psychological makeup, can be classified and examined into five different levels:

1. Physiological (Lowest)
2. Safety
3. Love/Belonging
4. Esteem
5. Self-Actualization (Highest)

Depicted as a pyramid with five levels, the four lower levels are grouped together as deficiency needs associated with physiological needs, while the top level is termed growth needs associated with psychological needs. While deficiency needs must be met, growth needs are continually shaping behavior. The idea is that, as needs evolve from simply trying to survive, to a higher level of needs which requires a certain level of wisdom, behaviors are constantly evolving to according different sets of values.

Physiological:

This is the most basic of needs. It pertains to the acquiring of materials to facilitate certain actions essential to the immediate/almost immediate survival of any human being- the need to breathe reasonably clean air;

- the need for clean water;
- the need to eat decent food;
- the need to dispose of bodily wastes via proper sanitation facilities ;
- the need for sleep in proper shelters;
- the need to regulate body temperature (i.e warmth).

This is the most basic level of needs; any viable system of government must set aside provisions for the purposes of meeting these needs, failing which, the government is to be held accountable for its failure to do so.

Safety Needs:

This is the second level of needs that demands almost immediate attention: The need to provide the masses with a relatively safe and secure environment to live in.

These include:

- Security of employment: Worker's Unions, laws protecting workers' rights, etc
- Security of revenues and resources: Checks on government revenues by external auditors, anti-corruption police units, etc.
- Physical security: Police, Armed forces, and other security agencies.
- Safety from violence, delinquency, aggressions.
- Moral (i.e laws of the state) and physiological security: Laws, civil and criminal.
- Familial security: Healthy family units, each headed by a father and mother.
- Security of health: Health insurance, social welfare, etc

Love/Belonging:

This is a level of need which is more or less exclusive from government intervention. It involves a longing for love and recognition within a social group/family unit. Human beings, being social creatures, long for a sense of belonging within a social circle. This is where churches and other religious groups come into play.

Esteem Needs

This is a higher form of need that requires the government to foster an open society, thereby enabling a high level of autonomy in terms of free speech and freedom of the press, along with other freedoms pertaining to the right of expression.

Esteem needs cater to the very human side of nature: The need to be respected, through engagement in a bid to gain recognition and acceptance from a particular niche or group.

The absence of esteem needs for any individual may lead to low self-esteem and a host of other personality problems in relation to the loss of self confidence. When you compound this problem on a national scale, the end result is political apathy and a abject loss of national identity.

Self-Actualization

This is the ultimate nirvana of any enlightened human being: To use his/her unique talents to achieve his/her maximum potential.

According to Maslow, self-actualizing people:

- embrace the facts and realities of the world (including themselves) rather than denying or avoiding them.
- are spontaneous in their ideas and actions.
- are creative.
- are interested in solving problems; this often includes the problems of others. Solving these problems is often a key focus in their lives.
- feel closeness to other people, and generally appreciate life.
- have a system of morality that is fully internalized and independent of external authority.
- judge others without prejudice, in a way that can be termed objective.