Why You Want What Others Want

You might think your desires are uniquely yours, but human longing is actually a copycat game. We crave things simply because others desire them, which inevitably triggers rivalry and social conflict.

Rene Girard discovered that human desire is not linear but triangular, involving a subject, an object, and a model who influences our choices. This mimetic behavior is the hidden engine behind both our greatest collaborations and our darkest cycles of violence. When everyone chases the same prize, it leads to social tension that societies often resolve by scapegoating an innocent party. Understanding this process reveals how much of our personal identity is actually borrowed from those around us.