Abraham Maslow’s famous “hierarchy of needs” places self-
actualization as the pinnacle of human behavior. To illustrate
what the phrase “self-actualization” meant , Maslow said: “a
musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must
write, if they are to be ultimately at peace with themselves.”
Of course, the thing that is important to note about Maslow’s
hierarchy is that physiological needs are at its base, i.e., a
person’s basic needs must be met before that person can reach
self-actualization. In other words, “a guy’s gotta eat”!
Maslow’s theories shed some light on the ongoing social debate
on the Internet regarding whether musicians would continue to
produce quality music if copyright as we know it were to be
abolished. A different argument, though very related, is whether
money motivates one to be creative. One movement advocating such
ideas is the “Free Culture Movement.” Another less extremist
movement is Stanford professor, Lawrence Lessig’s “Creative
Commons” group, which advocates modified