In Girard's model of mimetic desire, there are three parts: the subject, the object, and the model. The subject sees that the model has the object and comes to desire it.

There's something deeply true about this. But often, the thing you end up desiring is not an object. For example, you might observe someone else's happy relationship and want a happy relationship for yourself. But you don't necessarily want their partner. Or you might see that someone else enjoys their job and you might want a job that you enjoy...but you don't necessarily want their job.

Seen from this perspective, mimetic desire doesn't necessarily lead to conflict.

I love the scapegoat concept, it solves problems in at least 3 ways:

- resolves pressure that builds up due to social paradoxes (don't like you but have to pretend to, have desires but can't admit to them)

- reminds everyone that it could be worse, normal problems are no big deal compared to actual violence

- and promotes bonding over a shared enemy

> 8. Our most violent impulses are stirred up by similarity, not difference. For example, hatred of immigrants (and their hatred of the locals) is amplified when both live in the same neighborhood and the barriers that previously existed have been removed. There are hundreds of other examples, but they all derive from the other refusing to remain the other, and instead showing up on our street, in our country club, at our doorstep, or somewhere else where they start to resemble us.

This doesn't make any sense. Physical proximity and similarity are very different things. The correct analogy would be if immigrants assimilated, and that led to resentment by the local population.

Similar to the imitation problem, I’ve read somewhere that it’s not greed what drives people to accumulate things (wealth etc.) but envy. You don’t want more for the sake of getting more, you simply want more than your neighbor.

It’s all relative. And difficult to break the cycle.

Possibly links to point 8.

For those who want to "stay a while", Jonathon Bi did a discussion series on Girard's Mimetic Theory:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_xn3B6eWvGsILrh5v5nq...