A People and Family Perspective

Where quality of life really matters

The individual

People centric analysis is probably the most desirable … but it is not easy, and is not desirable. The data needed may only be obtained by detailed probing into matters that are best left private and left within the family.

Though people centric analysis as the main method of analysis is impractical … thinking about impact on people is important. Individuals and families are a very important piece of the structure of society, and it is useful to remember this, even though the main metrics recommended in TVM are at the activity level and the community level rather than with the individual and in the family.

The family

The dynamic of an individual and the dynamic of a family are different. Part of this is gender … part of this is age … and part culture … and other things as well.

The goal is to improve quality of life … and this is done when both the individual and the family are progressing. And when individuals and families are making progress, it is likely that the community as well will be making progress.

Dynamic of family … who helps who?

A typical mulit-generational family has parents helping the children … and then at another stage in the evolution of the family, the children looking after their parents.

But there is also what happens in terms of the members of the family helping the community … and the community helping the members of the family. People are both consumers and they are producers. There is community progress when families are able to produce more than they consume … and there is family progress at the same time. This is a sustaining community.

People as population

Population demographics are an important part of the value calculation for a community. Needs are a function of population … and the satisfaction of needs is another function of population. Human resources … people … are the core of everything. Quality of life is a metric that has no meaning without people. People have critical basic needs without which people do not live. A functional society should make it possible for basic needs to be satisfied without any value diminution for society as a whole.

People in the balance sheet

Because people are an asset, they are an important part of the value balance sheet and state of the community.

People are a resource

People are a resource and as a resource they are included in the balance sheet. The valuation is based on a standard value and the profile of the population of the community. Individuals make a very big difference … individual people are the decision makers whether they are working for their own account or for an organization. Ordinary people working hard can make a very big contribution to progress … and with guidance the outcome from this work may be enhanced substantially.

People have needs

People have needs … and the socio-economic system should function so that these needs may be satisfied as part of the normal workings of the system.

Socio-economic system dysfunction

While global production capacity could satisfy all basic needs, the way the system works has resulted in some 4.5 billion people are poor and hungry. Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen bank system has observed that when poor people work hard and remain poor … this is a failure of the system itself. The idea that some 4.5 billion people around the world are poor and hungry is an absolute disgrace reflecting a serious failure of the analytical models that are used for the assessment of economic performance and responses by decision makers and leadership!

Without people there is no demand. Aggregate demand is one of the important parameters in the money profit based global economy … and depends on people and their affluence.

Unmet needs

In rich societies most needs are satisfied with a surplus to increase the wealth of society … but in poor societies the available resources are inadequate to meet the needs. Society must address the problem of unmet needs in the optimum way.

Satisfying unmet needs may be urgent. In humanitarian emergencies unmet needs are addressed by using donated resources. This serves an immediate purpose, but usually the longer run effects are detrimental. Unmet needs are better addressed by a mix of emergency donations and initiatives that will improve the productivity of the community and facilitate an increase in surplus production.

Range of people interactions in community

There are many ways that people interact with society and the components of the community as set out below:

1. People are the drivers of organizations.
2. People are the decision makers in communities
3. People do things … these are activities
4. People make up families
5. People have needs … that must be satisfied
6. People have wants … that are part of quality of life
7. People are a resource to satisfy needs and wants