This paper argues that the view of basic needs deficiencies as a residual problem largely affecting those not yet fortunate enough to be incorporated within the modern economy is highly misleading. It suggests rather that what theoretical tools we possess remind us that under conditions of excess labour supply the competitive economy generates such problems. Indeed current developments raise the possibility that far from being on the wane, the problem may come to threaten workers who have in the past been able to escape the consequences of these pressures through defences based on skill, union membership, and employment in particular sectors or nations.