Labour: back to basics

By Peter Barnard

Thirty years ago, I was introduced to Abraham Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ and it has always appeared to me, since then, that there is a natural affinity between Dr Maslow’s hierarchy, Beveridge’s identification of the ‘Five Giants’ that need to be conquered, and the natural ideals of the Labour Party. I might add that the introduction occurred not under the auspices of ‘some woolly-headed socialists’, but in a money-making (that’s what oil companies do, and deservedly so) American oil company.

Dr Maslow’s hierarchy – and I’m sure that many contributors to this site are familiar with it – appears in the diagram below:

This, to me, is an admirable ‘target diagram’ for any society.

Dr Maslow suggested that, for an individual, progress to the next higher level could not be achieved until all needs at the existing level of that individual had been satisfied.

Now, with extrapolation, what is true of an individual can be applied to society as a whole. Until we eliminate all deficiencies at Level 1, we won’t be able to progress to Level 2. And we know that there are still deficiencies in our society at Level 1 (shelter) and Level 2 (employment). We also know that lots of people feel ‘disconnected’ from the political process (level 3, ‘sense of connection’). Before Conservatives start crowing about Labour’s ‘failures’ in employment in 2009, I would remind them of their record of employment between 1979 and 1997: stellar, it wasn’t.

John Major’s aim was to achieve a society ‘at ease with itself.’ This should be the aim of any Labour government, and can only be achieved when Levels 1, 2 and 3 are satisfied for the majority of the nation.

What does this mean as far as our political economy is concerned? Just two principles:

(i) Full employment for a skilled workforce and

(ii) Education, education, education

Having said this, there will always be a need in society for people to perform work that is ‘less-skilled’: the road-sweeper and his (her) equivalent in 2009. These jobs should be regarded for what they are – essential – and their contribution to a well-ordered society should be appropriately rewarded, so that progress to Level 3 in Dr Maslow’s hierarchy occurs for the majority of the people.