In 1934, American psychologist Abraham Maslow published his ‘hierarchy of needs’. During his lifetime he lived through the Great War, the Spanish Influenza, which killed roughly 50 million people globally, the crash of stock markets in 1929, the Great Depression and a tide of global populism. Five years after his publication, the Second World War began.
The ‘base’ of Maslow’s pyramid of needs set out the basic requirements that we all need as a minimum before you think about psychological needs. In 1934 those basic needs were not met, for many they are not being met now: food, water, warmth as essentials, followed closely by security and safety.
COVID-19 is, initially, a health issue. But the economic and security effects – directly impacting on the ability to meet those basic needs – may be even more dangerous and wide-reaching than the horrific toll of the virus itself. During crises, existing inequalities are exacerbated. We see people doing amazing things, but a minority also do horrific things to each other.
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Source: Capital News