I typed out a much longer response but this will do:
I think you are not following my argument or the OP. Neither supposes that "we need" is a standalone argument. OP provides specific examples for why "we need" to do these things.
"We" doesn't mean literally every human. Do you think people are actually being misled by this? It just means something like "society at large".
"We" need plumbing. This doesn't mean you can't individually live alone in the woods without plumbing.
"Need" doesn't mean you "must" have something. You don't "need" water if you're suicidal.
"Need" is just shorthand for "sustains our current way of life". If you want to see the downfall of civilization, you don't "need" agriculture. If you don't care about people on dialysis or the millions/billions of others that would die without power, then you don't "need" electricity or internal combustion engines.
You're allowed to have these opposing views.
The "we need" arguments assume that most people want to maintain or improve standards of living.
If you want to decrease standards of living, that's a fine opinion to have (although weird). More importantly, if you don't care about society, why bother arguing this at all? Why post on HN? No one is stopping you from living a pre-plumbing, pre-agricultural life if that's what you want.
"Society" of course tries to sustain itself. If society wants to keep existing in its current form, it does need to do many things (indoor plumbing, running water, electricity, or as the OP talks about, preparing for certain dangerous situations).
I think you are not following my argument or the OP. Neither supposes that "we need" is a standalone argument. OP provides specific examples for why "we need" to do these things.
"We" doesn't mean literally every human. Do you think people are actually being misled by this? It just means something like "society at large".
"We" need plumbing. This doesn't mean you can't individually live alone in the woods without plumbing.
"Need" doesn't mean you "must" have something. You don't "need" water if you're suicidal.
"Need" is just shorthand for "sustains our current way of life". If you want to see the downfall of civilization, you don't "need" agriculture. If you don't care about people on dialysis or the millions/billions of others that would die without power, then you don't "need" electricity or internal combustion engines.
You're allowed to have these opposing views.
The "we need" arguments assume that most people want to maintain or improve standards of living.
If you want to decrease standards of living, that's a fine opinion to have (although weird). More importantly, if you don't care about society, why bother arguing this at all? Why post on HN? No one is stopping you from living a pre-plumbing, pre-agricultural life if that's what you want.
"Society" of course tries to sustain itself. If society wants to keep existing in its current form, it does need to do many things (indoor plumbing, running water, electricity, or as the OP talks about, preparing for certain dangerous situations).