In theory: Mimetic desire
Peter Thiel – a venture capitalist whose mentor at Stanford was none other than Girard lui-même – soon spotted the commercial potential of a social networking site based on mimetic desire. In fact, the whole concept of viral, word-of-mouth marketing follows Girard’s principle according to which the strongest desires are those influenced by an admired third party. The gods haven’t withdrawn: they have gone online and their name is Legion. What the venerable Académicienmakes of this exploitation of an “ontological disease” he has been denouncing for half a century is anyone’s guess.