Final answer:
People engaging in hunger strikes for political reasons implies that they can prioritize higher-level needs over physiological needs in Maslow's hierarchy, indicating the model's flexibility rather than being rigid.
Step-by-step explanation:
The fact that people will undertake a hunger strike for political reasons demonstrates that Maslow's hierarchy is not universally fixed, and people are capable of prioritizing higher-level needs such as self-actualization or even self-transcendence over more fundamental physiological needs in certain situations. While Maslow's theory is often depicted as a hierarchical pyramid where lower-level needs must be met before higher-level needs, real-world phenomena, like political hunger strikes, suggest that human motivation is more complex. Indeed, Maslow himself suggested a level of self-transcendence above self-actualization later in his life. This level represents striving for meaning and purpose beyond oneself, which can sometimes lead to self-sacrifice for a greater cause, as seen in the actions of historical figures like Mohandas K. Gandhi.