This is the sad situation that many people find themselves in later in life. It’s easy to get stuck in a Gravitron of desire—a system of desire in which everyone is spinning around, pinned to the wall, unable to escape, in the same pattern, wanting the same things.

Sure, we can “use” mimetic desire, just as we can use other people’s trust or hearts or bodies. It might help us recognize the next Facebook. Or become better pickup artists. Or make a lot of money in a volatile stock market. But it will be a Faustian bargain. It will ensnare us in rivalries and keep us from doing the hard work of finding and pursu