The Necessities of Human Life

a position paper of the

Plebian Society

It is so easy for us to claim that this or that thing, this or that service, is crucial to our existence. We have to have a particular pair of shoes. We must have our hair cut or our nails done or our morning coffee at the neighborhood bake shop. When it comes down to the crunch, when youre in a survival situation, what is necessary for human life becomes abundantly clear. A pair of wing-tipped loafers, a pair of peg-heeled pumps, or even that morning cup of coffee become insignificant and even petty if your life is in danger because youre lost in the woods and freezing to death. The Plebian Society calls the necessities of life utilities. They are those commodities and services which, without them, we could not survive. We distinguish between utilities and luxuries. Utilities are so important we must control them locally. Trade is for luxuries. What are these utilities?

Copyright 2010 by the Plebian Society, http://www.plebianvillage.com. All rights reserved.

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Food, clothing, and shelter come immediately to mind. But there are two other necessities we tend to overlook until we are deprived of them: clean water and clean air. They are definitely more important than food, clothing, or shelter. You can only live a few minutes without air, only about a week without water, but you can live for a long time without food.

In the history of humanity, we have undergone periods (and still do in China for instance) when the air and the water were polluted to such an extent that breathing and drinking led to death. We more or less (mostly less) cleaned up the air in Los Angeles and the water in Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, but the older people among us can still remember a time when air and water had more importance than it does today. In terms of human survival importance, air and water are at the top of the list.

We can start a list of necessities and well prioritize it, the most important thing listed first. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Air Water Food Clothing Shelter

It might be argued that proper clothing can compensate quite adequately for shelter. This is, indeed, true . . . even at the top of Mt. Everest, even at the South Pole. But somehow ade-

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quate isnt good enough. Sooner or later, we all need a roof, protection from the elements, and more important than any of that, a place to be. Every human being needs (requires) a home, a place to be.

But as we move farther and farther away from the equator, we find that these five necessities are no longer enough. We need something more. We need energy. For early humans this meant fire. For us today it means the same thing only we see it as fuel for our furnaces and automobiles and electricity for everything else. At any rate, we add a sixth element to our list: energy.

Most animals are born fully formed and functional, ready to survive on their own without nurturing or training, armed with tools and skills that are inherent, innate. Fangs and claws come to mind as tools. We call innate skills instinct. Humans have a fairly impressive array of tools, not the least of which is the human brain, but we have practically no instincts.

A human baby, as a predator, is pathetic. Its no predator at all. It is prey. It has to be protected and taught. And that leads to the seventh element on our list of human necessities: education.

Without education we could not survive as a species. Most of us take our culture for granted. But imagine this: you are alone and without any resources beyond your own mind and

The Necessities of Human Life

body and what you can find in nature. Would you be able to find or grow your own food? Would you be able to make your own clothing? Would you be able to make fire?

Perhaps, especially if you had been taught how to do it. But many of us would succumb in such a situation. We are ill-equipped to survive in nature . . . without training. And we are just as ill-equipped to survive in our own culture without training. Practically everything we do is a skill and skills must be learned. Education.

We have seven elements now. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Air Water Food Clothing Shelter Energy Education

Is our list complete?

Almost.

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A problem arises when we gather together in groups as we are prone to do. It has been claimed that humans are herd animals. We seek out one another. We form communities. But the metaphor is wrong; the herd is the wrong model. We are, instead, pack animals. No, not like beasts of burden like wolves. We run in packs.

Living among a pack affords us with many benefits, not the least being protection from predators. But it also brings us an unwanted side-effect: our own pollution. We are dirty creatures and the filth we produce threatens our very existence. Our sewage and garbage breeds disease, ruins our water, and threatens the very air we breathe. We need to add an eighth element to our list of necessities: sanitation.

And that leads us to the ninth and final element on our list of necessities. Humans are prone to disease. Do you need proof? Look only to recent history. Before the middle of the 20th century, people died at much earlier ages than they die now. People tended to get sick and remain sick until they died. In an idyllic spot in southern Indiana, Spring Mill Village just south of Bedford, there was a thriving industrial village in the antebellum north. Life was good. There was full employment, plenty to eat and drink, pristine air, plenty of fuel for fire, plenty of materials for building very adequate shelters, and all the benefits of thenmodern technology. The average age of death in Spring Mill Village in 1850 was 28 years.

The ninth and final element on our list of human necessities is health care.

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And now our list is complete.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Air (clean, breathable air) Water (clean, potable water) Food Clothing Shelter Energy Education Sanitation Health Care

END