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René Girard's concept of the scapegoat revolves around the idea of mimetic desire and the resulting social conflicts. When desires converge on the same object, rivalry and violence ensue.
To restore order, societies often single out a scapegoat—an individual or group blamed for the chaos. The scapegoat's expulsion or sacrifice creates a temporary sense of unity and peace.
Girard argues this mechanism underpins many cultural and religious rituals, masking the violence inherent in human societies. Key works: *Violence and the Sacred*, *The Scapegoat*.
View BranchA key critique of Girard's scapegoat mechanism is its overgeneralization of human conflict and social cohesion. While mimetic desire and scapegoating may explain certain historical or cultural phenomena, Girard risks reducing complex social dynamics to a single, universal mechanism.
Human societies are shaped by diverse factors—economic, political, ecological—not solely by mimetic rivalry. Additionally, Girard's theory assumes a uniformity in how societies resolve conflict, ignoring the possibility of non-violent or cooperative solutions.
By framing scapegoating as an inevitable response to mimetic desire, Girard overlooks the capacity for moral progress and the development of institutions that mitigate violence without resorting to sacrificial rituals.
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