Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life
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| Author | Luke Burgis |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Liana Finck |
| Cover artist | Jonathan Bush |
| Subject | Desire |
| Genre | Non-fiction, Sociology |
| Publisher | St. Martin's Press |
Publication date | June 2021 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 304 |
| ISBN | 9781250262486 |
| OCLC | 1253678374 |
| 150.19/5-dc23 |
Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life is a non-fiction book by entrepreneur and academic Luke Burgis.[1] The book was inspired by Burgis's experience losing a deal in 2008 to sell his company.[2] According to the book, the episode brought on an existential crisis[3] that led Burgis to Stanford historian and philosopher René Girard's mimetic theory. The theory argues that much of what people desire forms through mimicking what others desire.[4] The book extends mimetic theory to the business world and into the experience of everyday life.[2]
Background
Burgis is an entrepreneur and academic, as of 2022, holding the position of entrepreneur-in-residence and director of programs at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at Catholic University of America.[5] He attended New York University.[6] Burgis later worked on Wall Street and founded four companies.[6][2] Wanting, Burgis' second book,[6] had its genesis in a business collapse.[2] In 2008, Burgis was in the process of selling his e-commerce wellness company, Fit Fuel, to Tony Hsieh, then the CEO of Zappos.[4] Fit Fuel was on the verge of bankruptcy. The deal fell through and Fit Fuel closed.[4][2]
According to the book, Burgis was surprised the failure left him relieved instead of disappointed.[2] He said he lost the desire to lead his company as a result of vacillating between living up to his own ideals and trying to live up to the example of his rich and successful idols.[6] The episode eventually led Burgis to Girard's mimetic theory.[5] In the book, Burgis reinterprets his Fit Fuel failure through the lens of mimetic theory, seeing it as a result of desires he formed through mimicking and modeling people such as Hsieh.[2] Recognizing this, Burgis says he sought to "shed" the "shallow desires" he developed through "mimesis." He then replaced them with "thick desires" which are formed over time, more aligned with sustained personal values and healthy relationships, and which "make for a good life."[2]
Content
The book consists of two major sections, each composed of four chapters.[3] The first is on the "power of mimetic desire"; the second is on "the transformation of desire."[5] The book argues, following Girard, that much unhappiness and conflict arises because people form wants and desires by mimicking what they see others want and desire.[3] Mimicked desires are, for Burgis, "thin desires" that tend to be misdirected, shallow, inauthentic to the person, and unfulfilling.[1] Our world, for Burgis, is shaped by "movements of desire" – what economists measure, politicians poll, and businesses feed.[2] Burgis argues that marketers and politicians relentlessly stimulate and shape what people buy, where they go, and who they form relationships with.[7] For the individual, the result is a life more caught up in pursuing mimicked desires than in fulfilling desires which are more intrinsic.[3] Beyond the personal realm, mimetic desire encourages social disharmony and conflict, Burgis says.[6] Burgis ties mimetic desire into "scapegoating", arguing that scapegoating is a byproduct of conflict inevitably spawned by mimicking.[5]
The Times of London described the book as part philosophical tract and part self-help guide.[2] The Bulletin of the Colloquium on Violence & Religion stated that Burgis did not write the book in a systematic academic or textbook form, choosing instead to focus on anecdotes.[5][1]
Publication and reception
In its review, the Financial Times said "You may not entirely agree with Girard's concepts, but the book does offer some fresh perspectives on our desires."[3] Publishers Weekly described the book's audience as those who don't mind "psychology mixed in with their inspiration."[1] According to the Times of London, the book is "part philosophical tract, part self-help guide." It described the book as "thought-provoking" and "deeply moral."[2] Strategy+Business argued that the book's main take-away for executives is that they might benefit by using "transcendent desires" to lead their organizations.[4] The Bulletin of the Colloquium on Violence & Religion said that Burgis provided a practical presentation of Girard's work that is relevant to peoples' lives. However, it also expressed qualms that his portrayal of "anti-mimetic" strategies could be misread.[5] The Washington Examiner's review depicted the book as a "non doctrinaire introduction to Girard's mimetic theory," but cautions "Disciples of the 'antimimetic' worldview might easily fall into patterns of competitive rivalry, and Burgis himself might also become a rival and obstacle."[8][permanent dead link]
References
- ^ a b c d "Review: Wanting: the power of mimetic desire in everyday life". Publishers Weekly. No. June 2021. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Patterson, Christina (4 July 2021). "Imitation Game". The Times. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "FT business books: June edition: Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life Wanting:". Financial Times. 7 June 2021. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d Kinni, Theodore (12 August 2021). "Why you want what you want". Strategy-Business. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Gruenler, Curtis (May 2021). "Book Review: Wanting: the power of mimetic desire in everyday life". Bulletin of the Colloquium on Violence & Religion. No. 68. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Packer, Matthew (29 January 2022). "Imitation game" (PDF). The New Zealand Listener. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- ^ Surowiecki, James (8 November 2021). "Best Business Books 2021: Making attention pay". Strategy-Business. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ Shullenberger, Geoff (17 June 2021). "The businessman's guide to transcending desire". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 19 August 2022.