As civilization progressed and the ape descended from the tree to walk upright, and then with the passage of time went on to fly in a space shuttle around the earth, what is considered indispensable by the species Homo sapiens has changed a great deal. Probably one of the very few areas which is still considered a necessity and which continues to prove an elusive goal is a state of global peace in which the finest capabilities of mankind could attain fulfilment.

Amenities that make for increased convenience are regarded as comforts. The whole gamut of equipment, food and clothing that make you comfortable and more at ease would fall under this category. Labour saving devices like the sewing machine reduced the drudgery of the seamstress, and the printing press that of the scribe. Fabrics of softer and warmer wool sheared and woven, replaced the coarse hide and animal fur worn by our ancestors as protection against inclement weather. Air conditioners and desert coolers made it possible to live and work in comfort even in the hottest and driest parts of the earth.

But the presence of the air conditioners could also lead to disastrous consequences. It would be difficult to have watertight compartments to separate what constitutes necessities, comforts and luxuries. An iced drink may not be a necessity in the Polar Regions, but is definitely one on a hot and sultry day in the tropics. Likewise, Van Gough may have been starving and in desperate need of food to keep body and soul together, but the artist within him craved materials with which to paint. To the junkie his next shot is more important than to try and educate the world on the hazards of nuclear proliferation and the difficulties involved in disposal of nuclear waste. Obviously then, what is a necessity to one person may be a luxury to another or vice versa.

Luxury may be regarded as an indulgence which enhances pleasure, often expensive but unlike a necessity, not essential to sustain life. On the one hand economic wizards tell us that it is impossible to overdo luxury. But the other side of the coin is that in many parts of the world potable water, a balanced diet, sanitation and unpolluted air which are considered as necessities have become luxuries. Today a luxury has come to mean something which is not available to all, and the price of which increases in geometric proportion to the increase in demand.

What constitutes necessities, comforts and luxuries has gone beyond being merely merchandise that could be bought and sold with a handful of silver. Show’s admirable creation, Professor Higgins is convinced of the necessity of right linguistic articulation but to the flower girl Eliza Dolittle it is a luxury way beyond her station and she is prepared to pay for tuitions to attain that blessed state. Dolittle decides to cash on his rights as a father in exchange for five pounds. Whereupon Colonel Pickering chastises Dolittle and admonishes him on his lack of morals, to which the unabashed drunken bum replies “Can’t afford them, Governor. Neither could you if you was as poor as me.”

To philosophers, through the ages, who believe that the spiritual self is all important, both comforts and luxuries are looked upon as hindrances.
There is no dispute on the need for the necessities of life and much may be said for and against the never ending pursuit for comforts and luxuries. But man also keeps striving after an impossible ideal, a state of supreme bliss and that brings us back to square one.