Weil's Obligations and Needs
The Need for Roots: Prelude to a Declaration of Obligations towards the Human Being
03 April 2024
Do we have rights? Yes, says Weil, but only when others are aware of their obligation towards us, that is, the obligation to recognise our rights. The two are inseperable: I have obligations, always, and part of my obligation is to recognise the rights of others. Thus, from my point of view, I have obligations, and others have rights. From the point of view of others, I have rights, and others are obliged (just as I do) to recognise my rights. Thus, obligations are prior to rights, and both parties have rights only insofar as they recognise their obligations towards each other.
Obligations are binding on all human beings, and the one thing that all human beings have in common is that each is obliged to the other. We are never free from our obligations, nor can we escape them, except when one obligation conflicts another. For example, a labourer has to work to feed his family, but he has to not work to care for his family. Weil writes that a society can be measured by the degree of such conflicts that it allows. An ordered society is one that minimises the conflicts between obligations, though Weil is skeptical of the possibility of a society that is completely free of such conflicts.
Obligations are unconditional, "above this world". Unlike rights, they are not contingent on the particularities of the world. Weil writes that this mix up between the universality of obligations and the particularity of rights is the source of our current social and political "confusion", which she traces back to the French Revolution, where people discussed rights and treated them as absolute.
We have obligations towards other human beings, simply because they are human beings. What are these obligations? Weil writes that we have the obligation to respect the needs of others. For example, in the case of hunger, we have the obligation to feed the hungry. Thus, obligations correspond to the needs of others. Weil later lists down some human needs, which can be categorised into physical needs and the less obvious moral needs.
Obligations are also directed towards collectivities (the group or the state), but not for their own sake. Instead, we are obliged to respect the needs of the individuals that make up the collectivities. Weil writes that we have obligations towards collectivities because they are unique, they are part of the future (they fulfil the needs of future generations), and they are also rooted in the past (they fulfil the needs of the the present). The collective is the medium through which the "dead can speak to the living". Thus, it is in this sense that obligations are eternal, and they make up part of our "eternal destiny".
Weil writes that sacrifices are sometimes necessary to fulfil our obligations to the collective. Though this does not necessarily mean that the collective is more important than the individual, because, again, the collective is made up of individuals, and our obligations are towards the individuals that make up the collective.
Sometimes collectives can be harmful, for instance when it leads to a lack of food. In such cases, the collective should be improved. Some collectives do not consume nor produce (Weil calls these dead collectives), in which case they should be dissolved.
Weil writes that it is important to distinguish between needs and desires. The latter is unbounded, while the former is limited. For example, hunger is a need, and it can be satisfied by eating enough food. Needs also typically come in pairs: there is a need for food, and there is a need for intervals between meals. Weil writes that true balance is achieved when we "jump" occasionally between two opposite needs, as opposed to staying in the middle all the time. Also, it is important to distinguish between the essential and the accidental: food is essential, wheat is accidental; we don't need wheat to survive, but we need food. Lastly, it is important to distinguish between "food" that nourishes the soul, that is, that fulfil our needs, and "poison" that appears to nourish the soul but actually harms it.
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Weil lists down fifteen human needs: order, freedom, obedience, responsibility, equality, hierarchy, honour, punishment, intelligence, protection, risk, private property, collective property, truth, and roots.
Order refers to the need for a stable society, where conflicts between obligations are minimised. People become "wounded in their love of the good" when they have to choose between conflicting obligations. Weil questions the possibility of an ideal society, where no such conflicts exist. Nevertheless, it is crucial to strive towards such a society, because it satisfies "our desire for the good". Satisfying our desire for the good is critical because it keeps us aware of our obligations and our need for order, even though we may never achieve it. Weil likens it to the "situation of walking in the dark without a guide, but constantly on the direction that we want to follow." One way we can become more aware of our obligations is by contemplating authentic art, since such art contains beauty, which is a reflection of the good.
Another is the need for freedom. By freedom, Weil means the "possibility of choice", i.e. the capacity to choose. Freedom becomes necessarily restricted when we live in a society, because we have to respect the needs of others. These restrictions appear in the form of rules, and Weil writes that the best rules are those that are simple, stable, and created by leaders who are "lovable". Such rules become easily absorbed by the people, to the point that they become "second nature". This is the ideal measure of freedom, the degree to which people are able to follow the rules without thinking about them, as opposed to the degree of choice that they have. Weil warns against the dangers of too much freedom, as it can lead to people becoming irresponsible and/or overwhelmed.
Obedience is a vital human need. People obey two things: rules and leaders. Weil writes that the primary driver for obedience should be consent, not fear. Also, leaders should obey the same rules as the people, to indicate that both are striving towards the same good. Weil explains the importance of having a head of society (eg. the monarch), whose role is to hold leaders accountable to the people. This way, leaders are less likely to become corrupt, and they can be exchanged without destabilising the society. Coercion and cruelty deprive people of their need for freedom and obedience, because they are not based on consent. Also, capitalism deprives people of their need for obedience because offering money is not the same as giving consent. Finally, Weil writes that there is an ongoing deprivation of obedience in the modern world, and some people have taken advantage of this to establish "slavery" (Weil does not elaborate on this, though presumably she is referring to totalitarian regimes such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union).
Responsibility refers to the need to be useful or indispensable to others. An unemployed person is deprived of this need, even in cases where they are able to support others. A person feels responsible when they make decisions that affect others, or participate in "endeavour of the collectivity". To do so, they must be made aware of the value, utility, and "greatness" of the endeavour, and their role in it. Any collectivity that does not fulfil its members' need for responsibility is "flawed and must be transformed".
Weil discusses equality next. We are all equal in that each of us should be owed the same amount of respect and consideration, regardless of our differences, or inequalities. One form of equality is the equality of opportunity, though Weil notes that this does not necessarily lead to equality of outcome, given that people have different abilities. This can be "dangerous" if not properly managed, because it can lead to resentment. Also, such arrangements can create an "upwards suction movement" that drives people to compete against each other to move up the social ladder. With no equivalent downwards movement, people are not incentivised to move down the social ladder, unless they are forced to do so. One way to address this is to leverage the idea of proportion, that is, a person should receive the amount of burden that is proportional to the power and wellbeing that they possess. For instance, a boss who has wronged an employee should be punished more severely than an employee who has wronged a boss (and it's crucial that the employee knows this). Another way is to remove all forms of quantitative comparison, so that people are different only in nature, not in quantity. Weil points out the role money plays in creating inequality. She then distinguishes between two types of inequality: stable inequality, where the people are aware of and resent their differences, though they do not seek to change them; and fluid inequality, where there is an active desire to rebel. Neither is desirable. Weil writes that equality is achieved when people do not regard each other as superior or inferior, but simply as diverse. Such conditions require that people respect each other, genuinely and without pretense.
Hierarchy refers to the need for a devotion to something or someone higher, not necessarily for the power that it/they possess, but merely as symbols. These symbols serve as a reminder of the good, or the domain of obligations, which is "above this world". Weil notes that the superiors should be conscious of their role as pure symbols, and not as someone who has power over others. Only then will the people accept the hierarchy, and not resent it.
Another vital need is honour. Honour is not the same as respect, because respect is owed to everyone, while honour is owed only to those who have done something great, recognised by the collectivity, and also people outside the collectivity. For example, in the context of a profession, honour is granted to the professional when the people in and outside the profession recognise the value of the professional's work. Oppression denies people of their need for honour because the traditions of greatness belonging to the oppressed are not recognised. Weil writes that some people are especially deprived of honour, such as prostitutes, criminals, police officers, immigrant workers, and indigenous people.
Weil discusses punishment next.