[hvs]

The Buddhists wouldn't disagree, they would agree and state that it is an axiom of their philosophy. The whole point of Buddhism is that people want more than they need and that it offers a way out.

[enraged_camel]

No, the whole point of Buddhism is that capitalism teaches people to want more than they need.

It is not an inherent human quality. Our ancestors in the African Savannah weren't going out of their way to acquire material goods. They were lean.

[sliverstorm]

Our ancestors in the African Savannah weren't going out of their way to acquire material goods.

Then how do you explain the necklaces, earrings, headpieces, etc etc etc found in the histories of tribes all around the world all through history?

[enraged_camel]

I think you missed the "going out of their way" part.

Can you imagine a tribesman thinking, "man, I should work extra hard today and bring home more meat so I can afford that necklace the other guy has"?

[sliverstorm]

Yes, I can easily imagine a tribesman coveting what his tribemates have. As for how exactly he acquired those things... it probably did not involve "affording" anything, because there was no currency. But I'm sure there were fights, theft, etc as well as plenty of labor invested in manufacturing more trinkets. Necklaces were not simply found on the ground; you would have needed to come up with a needle, thread, possibly a drill... all much harder to procure in the days before Home Depot!

[dragonwriter]

> No, the whole point of Buddhism is that capitalism teaches people to want more than they need.

Buddhism is much older than capitalism, so I somewhat doubt that.

> Our ancestors in the African Savannah weren't going out of their way to acquire material goods.

They were, once they developed the means to derive use from them (making them goods, rather than valueless objects.)