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Needs and satisfiers
A common shortcoming in existing literature and discussions about human needs is that the fundamental difference between needs and their satisfiers either is not made explicit or is completely overlooked. It may have to do with the difference between human needs and the conventional notion of economic "wants" which are infinite and insatiable. Satisfiers may include forms of organization, political structures, social practices, values and norms, spaces, types of behavior and attitudes. For example, a house can be a satisfier of the need for protection, but a family structure as well. Also one cannot say that a need is 'satisfied' or not. It is better to say that needs are satisfied to a greater or lesser extent. In the context of Human Scale Development, needs do not only reflect (individual or collective) shortcomings. They can also be seen as (individual or collective) potential strengths.

Fundamental human needs must be understood as a system: that is, all fundamental human needs are interrelated and interactive. With the exception of the need for livelihood, that is, to stay alive, there is no hierarchy in the system. On the other hand, simultaneities, complementarities and trade-offs are characteristics of the process of satisfying needs. There is no one-to-one correspondence between needs and satisfiers. A satisfier can simultaneously contribute to the satisfaction of different needs or, conversely, a need may require different satisfiers to be satisfied.

Poverties and pathologies
The perspective on the quality of life gives us also a different understanding of the concept of poverty. The traditional concept of poverty is (only) about material wealth. Instead we should speak about poverties. All of this also means that every fundamental human need that is not sufficiently satisfied leads to human poverty. And poverty generates pathologies, individual and collective pathologies. Some examples are: poverty of living (due to insufficient shelter); of protection (due to poor health systems); of affection (due to authoritarian systems); of understanding (as a result of poor quality of education); of participation (as a result of marginalization of women, children and minorities); and of identity (due to forced migration). Understanding these collective pathologies requires transdisciplinary research and action.

Culture
We can even say that one of the aspects that determine a culture is the choice of the satisfiers of the fundamental human needs. In short: culturally determined are not the basic human needs, but the satisfiers of those needs. Cultural change is, among other things, a consequence of the dropping of traditional satisfiers and the adoption of different satisfiers.