mod_security needed?

Can WordPress be safely run without mod_security? Presently my installation is just a blog but I might want to add ecom plugin at some point. I’d like to get an idea of whether or not mod_security is vital across the WordPress plugin ecosystem as well. mod-security is causing problems with other things I am running which are written with defensive coding and do not need it. Since WordPress figures into my site in a big way I want to make sure I maintain a healthy environment for it. I’m somewhat computer literate but not a Linux guy, web coder or server guy.

Thanks for any insights.