← Home
Conversations with Tyler · August 19, 2026 · 52m
Luke Burgis on Mimetic Desire, Catholicism, and the Age of Social Contagion
Luke Burgis joins Tyler to discuss mimetic desire in the age of social media contagion, drawing on his books Wanting and The One and the Ninety-Nine. Their conversation ranges from why the Anglo world seems uniquely unhappy to why AI might actually weaken social contagion, and why Burgis declined to consult with Anthropic. Burgis brings a Catholic framework to bear on everything from the widening gap between men and women to the sudden rise of mimetic antisemitism on the right, offering a lens that treats desire itself as socially mediated rather than individually generated.
This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.
Curious
•
Burgis proposes that the Anglo world's outsized unhappiness stems from particularly intense mimetic rivalry.
•
Burgis uses mimetic theory to explain why men and women are drifting apart ideologically and socially.
•
Burgis argues a Gnostic interpretation of the parable of the lost sheep — that the one matters more than the ninety-nine — captures our cultural moment.
Novel
Highlights
•
•
•
Burgis identifies a sudden wave of antisemitic sentiment on the right as a textbook case of mimetic contagion.
Editorial
References
■
Wanting — Luke Burgis — Made mimetic theory accessible to a general audience
■
The One and the Ninety-Nine — Luke Burgis — Applies mimetic theory to self, crowd, and social contagion
Misc
✧He left Wall Street after only two years.
✧He founded several successful companies in his twenties, then walked away to spend three years in a Roman seminary.
✧He runs the Cluny Institute and teaches at Catholic University.
✧He declined consulting with Anthropic on Claude's constitution.
Was this useful?