Marcuses Account of the Features and Significance of True and False N E

Modern capitalist society is the target of severe criticism in Herbert Marcuse's book, One-Dimensional Man. As one would hope, Marcuse's intent is not merely to point out the shortcomings of the present system. He further hopes to encourage change in the most basic features of society, and with the intent to effect change arises the question of what goals the proposed change is directed towards. Primary among his goals is the "development and satisfaction of human needs and faculties" (xliii). Which of the wide range of human faculties are worthy of development? This question obviously requires value judgments to be made; any answer will be highly subjective or very complex, and probably both subjective and complex. Instead, this paper will focus on the second problem raised by Marcuse's goal: the identification of human needs to be satisfied. In particular, we will examine his own standards for determining what human needs must be satisfied by a rational society. Marcuse assumes that not all of what have been called "needs" at one time or another are real necessities that a rational society need consider. Certain "vital needs" are beyond doubt, however. Those are the needs of human biology without which life cannot continue, and such needs seem clearly to be objectively determined by biological factors. The sheer misery that infects human life when adequate food, water, and protection from the elements are not available in itself would seem to give sufficient reason for a rational society to concern itself first with providing everyone with those bare necessities. It is generally taken for granted that human beings have needs beyond the mere sustenance of biological life. Some of those proposed needs border on the biological, such as "the need for health care." At the other extreme are needs with no physical component at all, such as "the needs for spiritual sustenance." How does Marcuse propose we evaluate these less objectively evident contenders? Overall, he takes an attitude of skepticism towards them. Marcuse writes that "human needs, beyond the biological level, have always been preconditioned" (4). The key concept in this sentence is "conditioned"; the conception of needs of this type are th... ...would rather eliminate upon reflection. For example, one can easily imagine someone realizing that her desire for Gap pants originated in advertisements, and deciding that she did not want this need impressed on her by the advertising industry. This incremental elimination of false needs would go at least partway towards Marcuse's ideal of liberation through the consciousness of one's own servitude. The resources freed up by individuals' abandonment of unwanted false needs could then be used towards satisfying the vital needs of others. This result is less complete of an improvement than Marcuse is arguing for; however, it is probably the greatest shift in individuals' conception of their own needs that can be accomplished given the inherently social nature of non-physical needs. Even with its ambitions diminished in this way, Marcuse's consideration of true and false needs shows how there is room for movement toward "the optimal development†¦of all individuals, under t he optimal utilization of the material and intellectual resources available to man" (6). All citations from: Marcuse, Herbert. One-Dimensional Man. Boston: Beacon Press, 1964.