I continue to find a deep understanding of evolution to be helpful in a wide range of subject domains, and perpetual human dissatisfaction is definitely on of these areas. Back before the agricultural revolution around 11,000 years ago we lived in conditions of scarcity and it made sense for us always to want more: a little more firewood, a better thorn-gate to keep out predators, a bit more food. This desire for more drove our behaviors and ensured we increased the odds of our survival. Unfortunately, today we live in a very different environment but we’re still hardwired for the African savannah and the primordial forests of Eurasia. This is why the trendy mantra of “trust your gut” is totally wrong. It’s why we have perpetual dissatisfaction, an obesity epidemic, and all manner of other ills. Our instincts and behaviors are now radically unsuited for the environment we’ve created in consequence of our amazing technologies.

Once we understand this basic fact, that we can’t trust our “gut feelings” about most things in our lives, we can begin to make sensible alterations to how we think about things. As you say, we already have more than enough in most cases, and we therefore don’t need more. But until we understand why we should ignore than nagging inner voice, we’re likely to succumb to its blandishments even as we wonder why our previous acquisition hasn’t actually made us any less unsatisfied.