Luke Burgis: The Power of Mimetic Desire [The Knowledge Project Ep. #138]

If individuals are naturally inclined to desire what their neighbors possess, or to desire what their neighbors even simply desire, this means that rivalry exists at the very heart of human social relations. This rivalry, if not thwarted, would permanently endanger harmony and even the survival of all human communities. —René Girard

Girard discovered that most of what we desire is mimetic (mi-met-ik) or imitative, not intrinsic.

How can we infect and be infected by desires that will ultimately lead to fulfillment and not to destruction?