need

In standard economics, individual preferences are exogenously given, immutable and even the same for the representative individual. In EE, preferences are needs that arise from different sources, in particular our biological heritage, our socialization and our individual >creativity and idiosyncrasies. They have a history, and therefore EE does reject the standard assumptions about consistency, immutability etc. of preferences.

As such, needs are a kind of >knowledge that guides the actor's choices. However, needs of different provenance may not harmonize, so that >decision is faced with conflicts. For example, in eating there are different forces determining behavior, stemming from biological needs and social regulation. To find an individual solution to these conflicting forces, is a part of the process of developing a personal identity. To reach this state of personal identity and to minimize conflicts between different needs, can be regarded as the standard of happiness in EE. This implies that mere >growth of the fulfilment of needs is not a reliable standard, which corresponds to many religious and philosophical beliefs in human history.

Another important innovation of EE lies in the theoretical emphasis on needs for status and the >competition for power ("status peferences"). As in the example of eating, we may refrain from following our biology to attain the status of a slim and beautiful person admired by others. In most general terms, status preferences are preferences that stabilize personal identity as a common set of roles that actors fulfill in >networks. Status and power are relational values, so that these needs are entirely context-dependent, and their fulfilment is influenced by the behavior of other actors.

EE investigates into the history and the individual differences in needs. From the perspective of the system it is important to note that the fulfilment of needs is not the ultimate goal of >production. >Consumption is only a surface phenomenon in the process of producing and maintaining order in economic systems. Hence, EE tries to understand needs in their functional role for production in economic systems.

Basic References
The classic on needs and the quest for status is
Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class, New York: Kelley, 1899/1965.

There is some very interesting research into the history of needs which demonstrates the meaning of the evolutionary approach.

Semantic Field
actor   production
competition   need   growth
opportunity cost   consumption