Why we want stuff

I was playing with Ringo yesterday, my small chihuahua-mix, rescued from the dog pound. Isn’t he the cutest thing? We were playing his favorite game using a rope toy. I hold onto one side while he tried to get the thing away from me. During this light-hearted tug-of-war it struck me that the need to own or possess something was hot-wired into every living thing. The need to have stuff is directly linked to our survival strategy. Is this what buddhist philosophy does its best to quell in our nature? Is the need to attain and possess material objects such an enormous part of what motivates us that entire nations are built upon it and others destroyed.
I am fascinated by how ‘old brain’ tissue memories retained from millions of evolutionary years shape our daily lives. When I imagine the early Homo Sapian he is anxiously looking over his shoulder and worrying about his next meal.
Maybe the buddhists are right. Do we really need all the things we have? Can we isolate this aspect of ourselves, understand it and end it? And I suppose more importantly is this aspect of ourselves something marketers should understand? It makes me think of Apple’s brilliant strategy of launching products with limited availability. The message seems to be ‘If you want this product get in line…’ And they line up like puppies.