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Evolutionary Psychology, Marketing and “Consumerist Capitalism”

Why do people buy certain items, particularly really expensive, impractical things, like the Hummer H1, which costs $139,771 and gets 10 miles per gallon? The answer resides in biology, in the specific context in which humanity evolved. During most of history, people lived in “small social groups” where displaying status was crucial to surviving, snagging a mate, and defeating rivals and enemies. Although you may work in an office, not a forest, your entire being is designed to act as if you still lived in a tribal setting. That means when you buy something, you rarely do so to obtain that thing itself. Instead, you buy it to send a message to your peer group.

Humans are ruled by instincts below the level of consciousness. These instincts drive you – and everyone else – to display certain traits. How those traits manifest differs from culture to culture and by social norms, but in a modern consumerist capitalism society, you express them by buying items that send specific messages. This perspective challenges ideas across the political spectrum about both capitalism and marketing. For example, consumerist...