A Theory of Human Need

by Len Doyal, Ian Gough

Rejecting fashionable subjectivist and cultural relativist approaches, this important book argues that human beings have universal and objective needs for health and autonomy and a right to their optimal satisfaction. The authors develop a system of social indicators to show what such optimization would mean in practice and assess the records of a wide range of developed and underdeveloped economies in meeting their citizens' needs.

381 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 1991

Reviews

[Toby Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dense and joyless read, but a vital piece of work. Doyal and Gough slowly, painstakingly, diligently establish the basis for and shape of a theory of universal human needs, which prises off the dead hands of both witless libertarianism and confused relativism.

Their thesis is based around the identification of basic needs (health and autonomy) and the means of satisfying them at an existential and, only then, preferential level. Many things, but not anything, goes.

They conclude, "Human need can never be automatically equated with individual wants or particular group interests. The specification of need must always appeal to a higher objectivity standard. While participation and the expression of preference have an indispensable role to play in determining specific need satisfiers, group interests cannot override the best available knowledge about basic and intermediate needs per se. These are central to everyone's ability to participate in their form of life and as such their satisfaction must be guaranteed as a right by a central public authority."

[Tomas Chaigneau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This theory is one that has definitely had a profound impact on the way I view the world. The book is dense, and hard to read at times. Whilst inevitably certain chapters will be more interesting than others, I felt no remorse at having slogged away at the whole thing.
I loved the honesty and transparency in the way this was written, and felt the authors to be very modest despite the complexity of the arguments throughout the book.
Most of it is now covered with highlights which i know I will be revisiting in the future.