Girard discovered that most of what we desire is mimetic (mi-met-ik) or imitative, not intrinsic. Humans learn—through imitation—to want the same things other people want, just as they learn how to speak the same language and play by the same cultural rules. Imitation plays a far more pervasive role in our society than anyone had ever openly acknow

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There are two primary types of shopping: search-driven shopping and discovery-driven shopping. Today, Amazon dominates search-driven shopping: 74% of online shopping searches in the U.S. now originate on Amazon.com (much to Google’s chagrin). You go to Amazon and you search “paper towels” or “hand soap” or “laundry detergent.” Search-driven commerc... See more