Economics
In a world plagued by poverty, economics play an important role in shaping
the future of every person. Derived from the word "Oikonomiko" (Greek), it means
"management of the home." Modern economics tackle the same kind of management in
a broader scale – the country.
Economics deal with the efficient utilization of scarce resources to
produce goods and services. As time passes, resources such as food, timber and land start
to dwindle. Unfortunately, demand for these goods run in an inverse proportion, and it has
been a problem to address such need from very meager means.
Human Needs
Everything stems from satisfying man’s insatiable hunger for goods.
These desires and needs are categorized in four different forms: Basic, Essential, Created
and Public. These needs make up the expenditure and flow of money and comfort in a
society.
The foundation of human needs starts from basic needs, namely: food,
clothing and shelter. They are the important factors man must have in order to survive. It
is something primary from birth to death and a necessity to a normal life. Essential
 needs, on the other hand go beyond the basics by covering factors
such as comfort and decency. They compliment basic needs. However, in application, the
process to the user is slower and the value is pegged higher.
In addition, public needs provide for the common good of the people. They
are the services that everyone benefits from regardless of social status or wealth. Such
services are public transportation, health and education.
Aside from the basic, essential and public
needs, there is also a created need – a human need found elevated in the hierarchy of
needs. A result of luxury or prestige, created needs are those that humans develop out of
their desires. However, they are not considered important in living a decent life. A good
illustration of created need can be found in things such as branded clothing and
miscellaneous items. Even though society needs clothing and the use of other
paraphernalia, the brands don’t have a direct influence on the delivery of goods. All
they do is provide status. Alternatively, not all created needs are categorized under this
subclass of luxury items. There are also some created needs that fall under the essential
class. Pencils, for example, are created needs because they are needed for man in order to
write. But it is not something we can just do away with that easily. It becomes essential
in the sense that we also need to write and we can write using a pencil.
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