Mimesis

Authority over desires

(Excerpt from Wanting by Luke Burgis) Authoritarian regimes can only stay in existence so long as they can control what people want. We normally think of these regimes as controlling what people can and cannot do...

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Thick and Thin Desires

(Excerpt from Wanting by Luke Burgis) Thick desires are like diamonds that have been formed deep beneath the surface, nearer to the core of the Earth. Thick desires are protected from the volatility of changing...

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Our goals are chosen by our models

(Excerpt from Wanting by Luke Burgis) Most people aren’t fully responsible for choosing their own goals. People pursue the goals that are on offer to them in their system of desire. Goals are often chosen for us, by...

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People fight because they are similar

(Excerpt from Wanting by Luke Burgis) As Peter Thiel points out in Zero to One, Karl Marx and William Shakespeare had very different views about why people fight. Marx thought conflict happens because people are...

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We don’t know who are affecting what we want

(Excerpt from Wanting by Luke Burgis) rivalry is a function of proximity. When people are separated from us by enough time, space, money, or status, there is no way to compete seriously with them for the same...

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