Which is greater (more powerful) a want or a need?

Needs.

A lot of people are idiots, and think wants are needs.

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Needs are very strong… especially in the case of survival, needs are much more powerful than wants. Needs, however, are often overpowered by desires.

While needs are more important, I’d say wants are more powerful because we often negate our needs for our wants. We’ll do whatever it takes to get the things we want and neglect those we need.

What about when it comes to your partner?

@Facade In what way do you mean?

Do you want them or do you need them? Which should it be?

It was too late to edit the question

I think in that case, want is better than need. Neediness is next to codependency, and that’s not a good place to be in psychologically. You don’t want to have to need a particular someone so much that your emotional health is in jeopardy, because particular people are going to come and go, and you’ll have to know how to carry on and be happy anyway when those people do go, be it because they leave or they die.

You ever know of people whose partners die and they just can’t carry on? Isn’t that sad? Would their partner have wanted them to be depressed and sad and yearning for the lost one for the rest of their lives? If you broke up with someone, would you want that person to have emotionally needed you so much that they’re a wreck without you? Yeah, me neither.

Want. Not need.

Ah. I think it’s better to want them and not need them. A need implies a dependency on the person, which can be very messy and unhealthy.

You need to breathe even if you don’t want to breathe. Try it. Try to stop breathing on purpose? Won’t work.

definitely wants, a “want” can push you to places you never thought you’d go, to achieve your wildest dreams..
Let’s say, I need a car but I want a porsche, then you will work for what you want, not for what you need…

I always think of a want and a need like this:

There is someone in the bathroom and you really want a shower, you end up being a bit smelly for a while.

There is someone in the bathroom and you really need to GO, you end up shitting yourself and being really smelly for a while.

With your partner, it’s bettter to want them.
But needing them is often the stronger one.

Need is always more powerful.

Want is just a byproduct of having too much need taken care of.

If this question is about spouses and partners:
I have discovered from personal experience that needing a partner is counterproductive.

I think Maslow had it down pretty good.