I realize that most of the posts to this thread relate to the blonde bombshells, but, back to the tone of the article. . .
I think the author is wrong, as well. The rest of the world does not sit around wasting time wishing they were us! He presumes that what motivates us also motivates everyone else.
If Diaz was expressing the observation that primitive peoples find purpose and happiness without our level of material wealth, then I would agree. I wish I could find more satisfaction in simple things. (Of course, our service economy would go down the tubes if everyone succeeded in this endeavor! :)
As human beings, those people, just like any people, strive everyday to have more resources, and to have more convenience. Maybe they'd have no use for a new Benz, but they damn sure would like an easier way to build a nicer house, or to get their crops in the ground. It's the height of foolishness, in other words, to assume these poeple live this way because they choose to, not because circumstances have forced it upon them.