# What do you think is the most universal human struggle is? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 9, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-universal-human-struggle-is/704111 "2014-11-09T01:44:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-universal-human-struggle-is/704111/21 "2014-11-09T14:20:44Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > What’s the one personal struggle that most people would be able to relate to by the time they are, let’s say, 50 years old? To be valued/appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-universal-human-struggle-is/704111/22 "2014-11-09T14:44:34Z")
Grammar. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-universal-human-struggle-is/704111/23 "2014-11-09T14:51:25Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > Fear of death. That’s not something most people think about on a daily basis. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-universal-human-struggle-is/704111/24 "2014-11-09T15:50:28Z")
It’s all about money. The biggest struggle is getting the money, without which certain aspects of life have become impossible or intolerable for nearly everyone in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-universal-human-struggle-is/704111/25 "2014-11-09T17:13:56Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > That’s not something most people think about on a daily basis. I think it depends on age. As I age, I think more and more about death, possibilities of afterlife, etc. Am not sure how “normal” this is. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-universal-human-struggle-is/704111/26 "2014-11-09T17:19:56Z")
I came in to say Lonliness/Need for love and companionship But Elfkin did it more simple than I…and WhyNot gave good support ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-universal-human-struggle-is/704111/27 "2014-11-09T17:21:30Z")
The occasional difficult bowel movement. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-universal-human-struggle-is/704111/28 "2014-11-09T17:35:48Z")
It changes with age. At my age (69), most people are concerned with their legacy, what we’ll leave behind, what we’ll be remembered for. It can be children, philanthropy, or any one of the arts. And sadly, it can also be something negative. We’ll never forget John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald or Mark David Chapman. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-universal-human-struggle-is/704111/29 "2014-11-09T17:47:21Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > It changes with age. At my age (69), most people are concerned with their legacy, what we’ll leave behind, what we’ll be remembered for. It can be children, philanthropy, or any one of the arts. Absolutely. [Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erikson's_stages_of_psychosocial_development) outline these. I’m of the opinion that they’re a little more limited to culture/time than many proponents suggest. Erikson was developing his theory during the 1940s and 50s in America, and they read like the outline of the ideal white middle class male experience. My generation has experienced quite a bit more drift; in a world where you don’t have one career or one significant marital relationship for your whole life, the timeline is a bit more fluid than his original hypothesis. But it’s still largely valid, at least for the US, and still something I pay attention to when assessing a patient’s psychosocial well being. I don’t know if they’re considered valid for non-Western cultures. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-universal-human-struggle-is/704111/30 "2014-11-09T17:53:03Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I think it depends on age. As I age, I think more and more about death, possibilities of afterlife, etc. Am not sure how “normal” this is. I don’t ponder death as much as injury or illness. Lately both of these things seem to be on my mind as others around me seem to be experiencing various health problems. At this point in my life (late 30s), no one that I’ve been close to has died. But I do know people who are debilitated or suffering from pain, and so the prospect of it happening to me seems quite realistic and thus scary. I’d say that the desire for status/value/meaning seems to me to be the most universal. “Does he/she like me?” is just a variation on this theme. People want to feel like they matter to someone or someones. A feeling of kinship or belonging is important for most people. No one really wants to feel invisible or like they are at the absolute bottom of the totem pole. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-universal-human-struggle-is/704111/31 "2014-11-11T14:47:39Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Cite? > > I’m curious because my understanding is that the vast majority of folks in the developed world pay lip service to ‘religion’. But they are steeped in it from birth, and no more than lip service is needed above the indoctrinated compliance with the fundamental cultural tenets. In America, all our social customs, our system of civil laws and criminal justice, the morality we are taught, all arise from growing up in “the Christian-coated ethical arena”, where out in the social interchange, it is impossible to distinguish an atheist from a bible-thumper, as long as they keep their lips shut. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-universal-human-struggle-is/704111.md?page=1)