"A Pew Research Center survey released Thursday finds that the recession has changed Americans' minds about many items that used to seen as necessities. In a 2006 Pew survey of luxuries and necessities, 68% said a microwave was a necessity; now that's 47%. And 52% say a TV is a necessity today, down from 64% in 2006."
Perhaps the recession is helping reduce some of the materialism in American culture.
Very interesting statistic!
ReplyDeleteIn my economics courses I try to avoid the distinction between needs and wants, because for the most part, it is very difficult to distinguish one from the other, at least if an objective attempt is made.
Example: "Health care is a need" Is this true? On the face of it - the answer seems to be "Yes". But ask a follow-up question. How much health care? Emergency treatment? Probably. Tooth filling? Probably. Knee replacement? Hmm. What about Lap Band surgery? Hmmmmm. So it is not as easy as most people think it to be to seperate a want from a need. This study actually bears out the dynamic nature of the perceived needs.
Perhaps you can't easily distinguish wants and needs in an economic sense, but they can be seperated in an ethical sense. Simply put, a need is something that when lacking undercuts the optimal pursuit of a tradition's end, while a want is a desire that may or may not support the pursuit. Now, of course, a need as lack may promote the development of an alternative answer--"Necessity is the mother of invention."
ReplyDeleteWith respect to TV's the declining 'need' for TVs could be a function not only of the recession, but also of alternative technologies that substitute for the role TVs played. We can read news online, watch videos on our cell-phones, and get sports scores on our BlackBerries, right?
ReplyDeleteYes, I thought that as well. And maybe microwaves are simple being replaced by more eating out.
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