The Problem With Maslow’s Pyramid
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs implies a linearity, with self-actualization crowning our enlightenment, once the rest of the pyramid’s ‘baser needs’ are met. While powerful, it is a misguided notion. In reality, we need to start “at the top”. Here’s why.
His was a brilliant piece of reflective — if intuitive — insight that gave form to a fundamental idea: that needs precede wants. Said another way, it proposed that without first establishing a foundation of health, safety and shelter, the pursuit of personal fulfillment seems trivial — a new-age conceit, even.
In truth, it’s not that simple.
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs takes the form of a pyramid, reinforcing the central notion that like the ‘real’ pyramids that inspired it, one builds a life upward, laying one gravity-laden layer of wellbeing atop the other, in succession. Gravity is symbolic in his diagram, but the basis is the same.
In principle, the theory goes, we must first satisfy our physiological needs (food, shelter, clothing). Second, once those are in hand, we can secure the psychological need for safety — both physical and fiscal. Third, sequentially, we can…
