ABSTRACT
One of the most controversial areas in contemporary welfare debates concerns theories of human needs. Part of the reason for the contested nature of this area comes in the problem of defining human needs in an ex ante manner when our perceptions of what needs actually are may, by their nature, be ex post due to the social context in which they are formulated. The tendency of the post-industrial Left has been to focus on this distortion of perceptions of human needs in advanced capitalist societies (which has been exacerbated by the growth of consumerism). While this is a central aspect of explaining the dynamics of industrial societies, a Left-libertarian viewpoint on human needs is an essential part of constructing a fitting welfare theory for post-industrial socialism. However, a clear outline of a theory of human needs has not been forthcoming to date from the post-industrial Left. In an attempt to clarify this situation this chapter will begin with an analysis of Leftlibertarian social theory on the manipulation of needs under capitalism with particular regard to the work of Conrad Lodziak (1986, 1995), who has been forthright in constructing a position which owes much to critical theory. From this basis we can then move on to evaluate the most developed theory of human need that has been articulated in recent years, that of Len Doyal and Ian Gough (1991). Finally, we can set out criteria for post-industrial socialist welfare theory by combining the previous examination of needs theories with a discussion of rights. This will provide a foundation for an analysis of potential policy proposals for the post-industrial Left in the closing chapters of the book.
