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Hi, Alec here.
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Which human needs do we have to satisfy
to live a sustainable life?
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Interestingly enough,
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most definitions of sustainability
mention meeting needs.
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The Brundtland Commission
of the United Nations, in 1987,
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defined sustainable development
as development that meets
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the needs of the present
without compromising
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the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs.
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In a previous video,
we used natural science to see
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that sustainability can be
defined as meeting human needs
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within ecological constraints.
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One of our four sustainability principles
says in a sustainable society,
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people are not subject
to conditions that systematically
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undermine their capacity
to meet their needs.
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So what are these needs?
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How can they help us
become sustainable?
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You may be familiar with
Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
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I won't get into it here but
there are many resources available online
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if you are interested.
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And here is another interesting theory
about human needs
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that was developed by Chilean economist
Manfred Max Neef.
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He published in 1991
a book called Human Scale Development
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demonstrating that human needs
are finite and classifiable.
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There are nine fundamental human needs
that are constant through all cultures
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and across historical time periods.
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What changes is the ways
these needs are satisfied.
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So these nine human needs are:
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Subsistence:
we need food, water, shelter;
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protection: we need a safe place to live,
social security;
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participation: being part of decisions
that affect our life;
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idleness: some free time or relaxing;
affection: we need friends, love;
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understanding: learning, meditating;
creation: cooking, designing, inventing;
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identity: a sense of belonging,
knowing oneself;
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and freedom: being able to choose
how we live our lives.
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Although these needs are the same
than the Roman or the Native people
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used to have thousands years ago,
some of the ways we satisfy,
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say, our need for protection,
participation, or freedom
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can be very different today
than they were then.
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While some satisfiers
Amplifying Voices
