>>> Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> 01/27/00 10:30AM >>
But, as a friend of mine said the other day, kids have needs, adults
mostly have desires. To each according to her desire....?
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CB: Marx would probably say you don't really know your desires until your needs are first guaranteed. Humans are only truly free in the absense of need. Freedom is the mastery of necessity or fulfillment of needs. You only know your desires when you are thus free.
At any rate, desires would not be suppressed, but not every desire would be guraranteed like every need, until all were wise enough to desire within the capacity of society to give.
The model in _The German Ideology_ goes: in fulfilling and meeting the "original" needs, physiological and reproductive requirements, humans create new needs ( all of the way up to cars to get to work today) during a long historical process. Meanwhile, all the time wants ( desires) are also arising.
So, neither needs or wants/desires are fixed and eternal, but rather are changing in a dialectic of desire. Who knows what we really want , until we choose in freedom from the press of unfulfilled needs ?
Of course, some people have been freed from need already and can contemplate a delightful full course meal. But communism is where everybody is freed from need, and all spend their time creating desire and fulfilling it. For mine or anyone's needs are not met, I (we) will come and disturb your meal.
To EACH according to need, thus originates true desire.
CB