Had anyone told me last year that I’d be writing about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as it pertains to Jefferson County politics, I would have told them they’re nuts. But having made a passing reference to it a few weeks ago, and having listened to local politicians and community commentators over the past few weeks, I realized I had hit on something.
Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who left us too soon. He was only 62 when he died in 1970 but he left behind a volume of work that merits the study of scholars in developmental psychology, sociology, and management training to this day. Chief among his theories is his Hierarchy of Needs, which resulted from his research into human motivation and curiosity.
During the course of his research, Maslow identified stages through which humans pass en route to reaching their full potential and what we need to get there. Much of Maslow’s theory laid out the basic things humans need before they can achieve their full potential – self-actualization, as he described it. Some of these needs include self-esteem, social belonging and a measure of safety and security. But the necessary bedrock which precedes all other needs is what Maslow called physiological needs. These are the things necessary to human survival. Without them we fail to function.
Maslow broke down these physiological needs into a handful of necessities: air to breath, water to drink, food to eat, and shelter from the elements, along with sex, sleep and clothing. Once these needs have been achieved, we can move to the next level of Maslow’s hierarchy, which is safety. This involves our personal security, as well as our emotional and financial security, and our health and well being.
One stage in Maslow’s hierarchy leads to the next. Leapfrogging doesn’t work. It does no good to perceive a sense of social belonging, which Maslow identifies as necessary to self-actualization, if one hasn’t first attained proper shelter and security. It is at this point that we can see a nexus between the needs of human beings as individuals – little different from our cave dwelling ancestors – and the communities we inhabit in the 21st century.
As the contest for the vacant seat on the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners takes shape we can see how candidates are applying Maslow’s theory, and whether they are applying it properly or improperly, particularly on the issue of infrastructure. Democrat Craig Durgan and Republican Jon Cooke are pounding the podium for sewer services in Port Hadlock and other areas of the county, while Democrats Greg Brotherton and Ryan McAllister are expending more time extolling the virtues of high-speed Internet.
Maslow would probably say both are good things, just as he said shelter and acceptance into social settings are good things. But he was quite specific in determining which must precede which. That is the question for Jefferson County voters in choosing among candidates.
Just as with individuals, the goal of reaching full potential can also be charted among communities through Maslow’s Hierarchy. Before Jefferson County can achieve its full potential, it must maneuver through the stages of Maslow’s theory, demonstrated by how it conducts itself as a civil society. We must first establish a foundation for the civic equivalent of physiological and safety needs, followed by fulfillment of social belonging and esteem before reaching that stage of self-actualization – Jefferson County’s full potential.
Jefferson County has largely met the physiological needs of its citizens but can the same be said for safety and financial security? It’s an open question depending on where one lives. But ask the storekeeper or restaurateur in Port Hadlock, or the landowner wanting to build apartments to provide much needed rental housing: does reaching financial security and their full potential depend more on their Internet service or their sewer service? You’ll likely find greater need for the latter than the former.
As we contemplate the contenders for the Board of County Commissioners we would do well to consider Jefferson County’s Hierarchy of Needs and which candidates are prepared to meet them. There are no shortcuts to self-actualization and anyone who claims otherwise is ignoring the settled science of Abraham Maslow.
Scott Hogenson
Scott Hogenson is a prize-winning journalist who has been a member of the academic staff at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he lectured in the School of Journalism and served as managing editor for the Wisconsin Public Radio News Network. Scott has also been a contributing editor for National Public Radio in Washington, D.C., a broadcast editor for United Press International, and a news director for radio stations in Virginia and Texas.
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