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Wanting

 I started this book in December and finished it in a few days. One of the key arguments of this book is that a lot of what we think of as our "desires" are mimetic behaviour. We want something because someone else is doing it. Think of it as imitation. 

Most of the phenomenon of marketing is all about subtle or latent imitation. Social media is all about mimetic behaviour -  considering that everybody's lovely lives are put out on display. The author argues that social media has suddenly made the entire world much more suspectible to being caught in this trap. 

Think influencer marketing. Or advertisement. That is still in your face - but a lot of other desires are latent - we dont realise why we want what we want.

There is a virtuous circle of mimetic behaviour and a vicious circle of mimetic behaviour. The point is to know which of our desires are actual and which of the are mimetic. And there is no good or bad - the very nature of human existence means we display mimetic behaviour. Perhaps it is a good thing to be humble enough to accept it. 

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