Spiritual Elderly Care in Rural Areas:Practical Dilemmas and Development Paths Based on Marx’s Theory of Human Needs 

Li Yuqing

Zhejiang Normal University Marxist Institute，Zhejiang Jinhua,321004；

Abstract：With the deepening of population aging, the spiritual needs of the rural elderly population have become increasingly prominent. Compared with material care, spiritual elderly care focuses more on emotional support, social interaction, and the realization of self-value, which constitutes an important dimension in improving the quality of life of the elderly. From the perspective of Marx’s theory of human needs and all-round human development, human needs are not limited to basic material requirements but also include the pursuit of spiritual and cultural development. Under the background of social structural transformation and population mobility, rural spiritual elderly care still faces multiple practical difficulties in terms of family emotional support, public cultural supply, and the participation of elderly individuals. Based on the analysis of these issues, this paper proposes several development paths from the perspectives of elderly individuals, family relationships, social support, and grassroots governance, aiming to provide theoretical reference for improving the spiritual well-being of the rural elderly.

Keywords: spiritual elderly care; rural aging; spiritual needs; all-round human development

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