Wants — Meaning, Characteristics and Classification

A want is a desire for a good or service that gives satisfaction when fulfilled — it is the starting point of all economic activity, because it is wants that make resources scarce and choice necessary in the first place.

Characteristics of wants (as covered in the Maharashtra HSC Economics syllabus):

• Wants are unlimited in number. As soon as one want is satisfied, another takes its place; human wants as a whole can never all be satisfied simultaneously.
• A particular want is satiable. Although wants in general are unlimited, any one specific want (say, thirst) can be fully satisfied at a given time by consuming enough of the good that satisfies it.
• Wants are competitive. Because income and resources are limited, one want often competes with another for the same rupee or the same hour of time — buying a new textbook may mean postponing a bus outing.
• Wants are complementary. Some wants must be satisfied jointly — a want for tea is accompanied by a want for sugar and milk; a car is of little use without fuel.
• Wants vary in urgency and recurrence. Some wants (food, water) are recurring and urgent; others (a festival gift) are occasional; some (fashion) change with habit and social custom.
• Wants are influenced by income, custom, advertising and the age/habits of the individual — a student's wants differ from a farmer's, and both change as income rises.

Classification of wants. Wants are usually grouped into three broad categories by importance:

1. Necessaries — goods and services essential for survival and normal efficient living (food, basic clothing, shelter, and "necessaries for efficiency" such as a worker's tools or a student's books that improve productive capacity).
2. Comforts — goods that make life easier and more pleasant beyond bare survival, without being extravagant (a ceiling fan, a bicycle, a wristwatch). …