Cornel West & company explain why they are socialists..

[tama]

59. Equal satisfaction of needs

but needs vary from individual from individual, as does individual contribution to larger whole. A monetary system is not absolute necessity as economy can be based also on gifts and/or barter. But if a monetary system is considered useful, any case it should be organized democratically so that it benefits the society as whole instead of being a vehicle of class exploitation.

Most consumerist needs are artificially created through mass hypnotizing capitalistic media, for our basic needs Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a good starting point of discussion.

Negotiating about needs and how to best satisfy them can happen through centralized processes (e.g. representative democracy) or decentralized processes ("horizontal democracy" and informal decision making, as happens with a group of friends. Perhaps there is a consensus building, that a socialist good society should be based on decentralized horizontal democracy ("all power to councils" as was the original slogan of Russian Revolution), but centralized system can be often useful for getting projects done (e.g. architect centrally leading a construction project).