The most overused word in the English language.

A need is not something which you want, something which you think might be good, or something that might improve things. It is something that is necessary for your life or to meet some definitive goal.

A leftist might think that more government funding for retarded gay whales raped in nuclear war might be a good thing, but when it can't be justified, they argue that we need more funding for it. Likewise

• We need to improve women's support services.
• We need better public transport.
• We need to improve road safety.
• We need a more equitable society.
• We need to educate people in third world countries.

These may (or may not) be desirable goals, but none of them are actually needs.

When deciding whether something is a need, it is helpful to ask:

See

• should