Think of the statement, ‘I need a car’. Do I need the car for transport or social esteem, or a combination of the two? Are there other forms of transport? Could a car justifiably be called a necessary condition for human functioning? In contemporary society I experience my need for a car as a felt impulse or drive, and I relate it to more general needs, aspirations and goals; that is, the drive and goal aspects of this particular need are very much constitutive of the need itself. And my drive to have a car might be justifiable as a need because of the present state of public transport. I might really need a car in order to get to work, which is an important part of a good life. However, the present state of public transport might be the consequence, among other things, of the general acceptance and legitimation of the unanalysed transformation of a specific luxury item of social esteem from a want into a need: my felt need for cars may actually act against the meeting of my need for mobility as it justifies the degeneration of public transport. In other words, a particular car may satisfy my felt need (for a combination of mobility and social esteem), but fail to properly satisfy my need for mobility. And in making me feel like I have satisfied my need for mobility, it may prevent me from identifying and thus satisfying my need for mobility.