what are main characteristics of human wants?
Answers
Explanation:
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Answer:
1. Human wants are unlimited:
It is the experience of everybody that there is no limit to what he wants to have. They are unlimited in number. When he gets a thing desired, he wants something else, then another and this process continues like this for indefinite period. Man is never satisfied as new wants appear one after another in quick succession.
When the want for basic needs like food, clothing and housing are satisfied, he wants to have rich food, fashionable clothes, well furnished buildings and so many enjoyable things. Man’s life is a bundle of wants which can never be satisfied always.
Human wants become unlimited because he finds new ways of making life comfortable and enjoyable. So it is a never ending process. But he has limited resources in relation to unlimited wants; as a result all wants together are insatiable. Man always tries to satisfy as many wants as possible. But he is able to satisfy few wants with his limited resources.
2. A particular want is satiable:
Though human wants are unlimited and all cannot be satisfied at a time, but one particular want is satiable. It can be satisfied sooner or later, if one tries for it and he has the resources to satisfy it. For example, a person may feel hungry or thirsty. This want may be satisfied by taking some food or water. If he feels the want for shoes, he can purchase it and be satisfied because they want for a particular thing diminishes as we have more and more of it. This is the basis of the Law of Diminishing Marginal utility.
3. Wants are recurring:
Some wants can be satisfied for the time being. After sometimes these wants may revive. There is recurrence of the wants of basic necessities like food and clothing. This may arise in case of comforts and luxuries. For example, the want for food cannot be satisfied once for all. After sometimes one can again feel hungry and wants food.
Satisfaction of a particular want at any point does not mean the end of it. That want may again be felt after sometime or days. Some wants arc thus recurring. When such recurring wants are repeatedly satisfied over a sufficiently long period, they become habits.
4. Wants are complementary:
Some wants are complementary and are felt together. Some commodities are wanted jointly and single article of the group is unable to satisfy the whole want. Simultaneous consumption of different goods increases the satisfaction of each other. They complement one another. Sometimes a thing by itself is useless without the presence of some other things.
For example, ink and pen, camera and film reels, lamp and oil, motor car and petrol are complementary to each other. When there is want for tea, there is want for sugar, milk and tea leaves. Any one article of the group can not satisfy the whole want of respective groups and becomes useless. The want for them is felt in a group.
5. Wants are competitive:
As human wants are unlimited, all of them cannot be satisfied at a time because of limited resources. All these wants compete among themselves to be satisfied first. A person may want a television and a wrist watch, books and garments or anything else at the same time. He cannot purchase them all due to limited resources at his disposal. In this case he is to choose between different commodities. The Law of Equi-marginal Utility or the principle of substitution is based on this characteristics of wants.
6. Wants are both complementary and competitive: Some wants are both complementary and competitive. For example, machinery and labourers. Both are required to run a factory. They are complementary to each other. The machines cannot run without labourers. The want for one gives rise to the want for the other. If the industrialist spends more on machines, he has to spend proportionately less on labourers and vice versa. So machines and labourers compete with each other for their employment.
7. Wants are alternative:
A particular want may be satisfied in alternative ways. For example, a man can satisfy his hunger by taking bread, rice, fruits or sweets. When there are alternative ways of satisfying a want, we choose one of the ways depending upon our income, prices of alternative ways and our personal taste.
8. Wants vary in urgency:
All wants are not equally urgent or important. Some wants are more urgent than others. The most urgent wants should be given a priority to be satisfied. For example, the want for food is more important than visiting a film. As our resources are limited we have to satisfy the urgent wants first.