Oprah Winfrey is quoted as saying: “You are the author of your own life… Don’t let others define it for you. Real power comes by doing what you are meant to be doing, and doing it well.” As true and as relevant as her words may be, we live within a world where the opposite is true, instead, we live within a global society where a few seem to have the power to determine what everyone else should aspire to. Social media, advertising, popular culture, fashion and consumerism in general – amongst many other factors – are driven by the notion of someone influential determining what you should aspire toward. Hence why we have “influencers” on social media, directing us to what services, items and products we should be purchasing. 

The underlying phenomenon that gives rise to this behaviour was hypothesised and best described by René Girard (1923-2015) who is recognised worldwide for his theory of human behaviour and human culture: “Man is the creature who does not know what to desire, and he turns to others in order to make up his mind. We desire what others desire because we imitate their desires.”

René Girard, originated the notion of mimetic theory of desire which leads to natural rivalry and eventually to scapegoating, which Girard called the scapegoat mechanism. Author Luke Burgis, who as part of his career has co-created and led four companies in wellness, consumer products, and technology and is currently Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Director of Programs at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship where he also teaches business at The Catholic University of America, expands on Girard’s mimetic theory of desire.

Simply put, mimetic desire means that we adopt the desires of others. As mentioned from the onset, very smart marketers and advertisers have honed in on this human instinct and from the very genesis of advertising, have been able to exploit our covetous nature to sell us trendy outfits, gadgets, lifestyles, music and anything else that can be commodified. We see a brand of jeans on a model, something we have never seen before, something we never knew we would like or want and desire it because that person seems attractive or more confident in that branded pair of jeans. Added to this, we all too often desire the item more because a friend or a colleague wears a pair and it looks good on them. This is how trends develop, this is how something as innocuous as a pair of branded jeans becomes the object of desire. Taken further, this pair of jeans may inspire a rivalry, as it may lead to a comparison of who wears it best or who inspired who in wearing the desired brand. The pair of jeans may even become a status symbol, a social signal which points to your class and which strata of society you fit in. 

The word mimetic finds its etymology (the origin of a word and the historical development of its meaning) from Greek mimētikos ‘imitation’, from mimeisthai ‘to imitate’. It in essence mimicry. Returning to the allegory of the branded pair of jeans, we mimic the model or a friend mimics us by wearing the jeans, it was not our idea to wear the jeans in the first instance, but much rather our mimicking or copying someone else and hoping to have the same results, if not exceed these. 

What then, is wrong with gaining inspiration from others and developing a healthy competitive attitude? Further, does it have an impact in the real economy, beyond personal choices?

Today, tens of millions of people have much, if not all of their investments, tied up in cryptocurrencies. In an article published on thecontrol.co, on the 21^st March 2021, Nick Tomaino, noted: “When bitcoin first launched in 2009, few wanted to own it. It’s effectively the same product now that it was then, the difference is more people desire it now. As more people desire an authentic scarce asset, the value of the asset tends to increase, which makes more people desire it. Bitcoin has benefitted from mimetic desire more so than any asset in history because it is globally accessible and the world is more connected than ever before.” 

Earlier in the article, Tomaino noted that: “People own bitcoin because of the story (digital gold that anyone can use and no one controls) and the scarcity (21M will be created by 2140 and the protocol verifies and enforces that scarcity).

A story and scarcity has created a cryptocurrency that today has a market cap of $1.1T, which is greater than the currency of all but 13 countries in the world.

Tens of millions of people globally now own bitcoin and believe it has massive value despite countless claims that it’s worthless from conventional wisdom in the media and on Wall Street.”

The real impact, on the real world, on the lives of millions could potentially be felt if the Bitcoin naysayers of Wall Street and the media are proven correct. If Bitcoin detractors are proven correct than trillions of dollars-worth of investments would be wiped off the face of the planet. This could happen to any stock, share or bond anywhere in the world, but these monetary assets are regulated and some financial and economic fundamental goes into their valuation. The real danger is that the mimicry of millions who desire cryptocurrencies is based on the story believed by many and in some instances is the only basis on which a serious investment decision is based. If these cryptocurrencies are proven to be indeed worthless, many across the world could find themselves destitute.

Competition within the world of business is great and should be encouraged. Competition, through healthy rivalries is what keeps prices low and quality high. Returning to author Luke Burgis, he expounds René Girard’s thinking in relation to mimetic theory of desire and how this breeds rivalry. 

He starts off by stating that rivalry in itself is not flawed, however makes the point that: “Rivalry is both generative and destructive. The key is knowing the difference — and the pivot point.” In his book as well as the earlier quoted article he uses the rivalry between Ferruccio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferrari as an example of how the pivot point is important. In short the founder of the company which has produced some of the most iconic hyper- and supercars in history understood that his rivalry with Enzo Ferrari needed to pivot and that he needed to rather focus on his own brand and develop it into the innovative, awe-inspiring brand it is today. If he chose to merely mimic Enzo Ferrari, focused on racing and thus wanting to beat Ferrari at what they were good at, he would have lost sight of what was truly important in setting his supercars apart. 

This lesson applies to ourselves in equal measure. As an entrepreneur or business person, mimetic desire may motivate you to do as well as a competitor or rival, you may even exploit mimetic theory of desire to alleviate the brand of your product or service, but solely focusing on mimicry will leave little room for creativity, self-drive, uniqueness and innovation. It is therefore essential to understand our own tendency toward mimicry and know when to pivot away from it in differentiating ourselves and offering the world something unique, with true value and truly sought after. That is how we do what you are meant to be doing, and doing it well.

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