Needs and Wants as Relational Dynamics: A Marxist and Activity-Theoretical Framework

<ns3:p>This work presents a Marxist and activity-theoretical framework for understanding needs and wants as relational dynamics rather than fixed hierarchies. Drawing on the works of Marx, Engels, Gramsci, Mao Zedong, and Silvia Federici, alongside cultural-historical activity theory from Vygotsky, Leontyev, Rubinstein, Engeström, and Bedny, it conceptualizes needs as historically and socially produced relations between living beings and their modes of life. Integrating perspectives on emotion (Holodynski, Ratner, Roth, Burkitt) and biological agency (Michael Levin, Richard Lewontin), it examines how needs emerge ontogenetically, phylogenetically, and collectively, mediated by objects, tools, and cultural practices. The chapter emphasizes the material, symbolic, and pragmatic dimensions of mediation, showing how needs evolve through co-production of organisms and environments. Latin American veterinary and public health case studies illustrate the interplay of human, animal, and ecological needs in contexts such as companion animal care, livestock production, pest control, and wildlife conservation. By synthesizing socio-historical, psychological, emotional, biological, and ecological dimensions, the framework provides a holistic basis for analyzing and transforming how needs and wants are defined, aligned, and fulfilled in practice.</ns3:p>