Usanin's pyramid overturns "Maslow's pyramid"

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

At the base of Maslow's pyramid of needs lies material well-being, which means that a person's spiritual development is impossible without a certain level of life. Psychologists, sociologists and other scientists convince us of this, and people who find themselves below the poverty line directly state that they are not going to engage in soul development until favorable conditions are created for them. But what if Maslow is wrong? What if it is not being that determines consciousness, but consciousness controls the events of your life?

The founder of the Prize "For the Good of the World" and public figure Alexander Evgenievich Usanin claims in his video blog that it is the spiritual development of mankind that determines the level of material well-being. Only in a society where there is morality, mutual respect and care for each other, a high level of well-being is possible. And if the stake is placed only on the material base, then society will inevitably degrade morally.

In his next video, the social philosopher, writer, founder of the Prize for Kindness in Art "For the Good of the World" Alexander Usanin turns the "Maslow pyramid" upside down, through which mankind was taught for a long time that the satisfaction of material needs is a prerequisite for moral and spiritual development of man and society.

However, in practice we see that material wealth in itself is by no means a prerequisite for spirituality. In the "economically most packed" countries, spirituality and morality, on the contrary, are increasingly falling into decay; the number of suicides, sexual perversions, and dissatisfaction with life are growing precisely due to the replication among the masses of such ideas that the main thing is material progress, and everything else is secondary.

In fact, Abraham Maslow did not create a pyramid of needs; he just made a list of the needs of the person. In addition, he was against building them in the form of some kind of hierarchy, since each person has his own system of priorities and values, noting: "… People devoted to lofty ideals and values are ready to endure hardships, torment, and even go to death for them."; “… The creative needs of people with a pronounced creative potential look more important, more significant than any others. We must pay tribute to such people - the need they feel for the embodiment of their creative potential is not always caused by the satiety of basic needs, very often they create in spite of dissatisfaction."

It's very simple, says Alexander. In order to truly be happy, you need to turn this pyramid over. Everyone is taught that by consistently satisfying needs, you can achieve happiness. But this is not at all the case!

Put spiritual development, love and trust in people at the forefront, not the passion for consumption, and you can live a happy life in a happy society. The ideal measure of goodness is trust in people. If you live in a society where the main thing is material, where “man is a wolf to man”, then your need for “protection” greatly increases, but if, on the contrary, in a society where you trust others, and they trust you, then the word “protection” does not even occur to you.

But the funny thing is that in fact Abraham Maslow did not draw any pyramid, moreover, he was against the catalog of needs. I would like not to argue with Abraham Maslow, but to rehabilitate him. After all, his idea was simply turned inside out.

This is what Maslow actually wrote: "… People devoted to … ideals and values are ready to endure hardship, torment, and even go to death for their sake." And more: "" … The creative needs of people with a pronounced creative potential look more important, more significant than any others. We must pay tribute to such people - the need they feel for the embodiment of their creative potential is not always caused by the satiety of basic needs, very often they create despite dissatisfaction."

Pay attention to the current situation in European countries. A high level of technical progress does not guarantee the moral behavior of people in relation to each other. The disintegration of families, support by states of same-sex marriage, violence, murder, drug addiction, depression, suicide and consumer relations between residents of Europe indicate that the material base is not enough to form a happy and healthy society.

Experiments carried out by scientists at different times confirm the fact that under favorable conditions of life, society either degrades or dies out. A social experiment in 1954 in the United States, the purpose of which was to help the poor, ended in disaster. The state sponsored the construction of a huge residential complex, in which all the conditions were created to improve the standard of living of those who until recently did not have a roof over their heads. But it did not help. After a while, the quarter turned into a hotbed of crime, a threat to society. Therefore, it was decided to liquidate the residential complex, and its residents were sent to correctional institutions.

It turns out that not material goods contribute to a high level of morality in society, but vice versa. Man does not live by bread alone.

Alexander Usanin places the responsibility for the current situation in society on the media, which form the idea of material happiness in society, replicate immoral attitudes, and sow fear and panic among people. Under this influence, society is moving towards collapse and degradation.

The way out of the situation should be an orientation towards high moral and spiritual values, demonstration of positive role models, education in people of morality, respect, care. Each person chooses the circle of his interests and communication, thereby determining his own standard of living. And the more spiritually developed people in your environment, the higher your own level of development, spiritual and material, becomes. Maslow's pyramid is not true, a high level of material development is impossible without spiritual development, moreover, an orientation only to the well-being of the body is mortally dangerous for society.

Where did this “pyramid of needs”, which is being replicated today, come from? It was introduced by the marketer (!) Philip Kotler, completely distorting all Maslow's ideas. This is what happens when a scientist's ideas fall into the hands of a merchant. Who, and why, needed to promote this distorted scheme and even include it in the school curriculum? The answer to this question is obvious: such a position is extremely beneficial for large corporations that raise consumers.. However, the orientation of society towards the priority of consumption leads to degradation.

It's time to turn the "Maslow pyramid" upside down - says Usanin: "High values are the basis for the spiritual growth of people and improving the quality of their relationships with each other. Only people's concern for each other leads to stability, security and all-round prosperity of society!"

“Put spiritual development, love and trust in people at the forefront, not passion for consumption, and you can live a happy life in a prosperous society!”

The updated version of the pyramid can be safely called "Usanin's Pyramid".