Author:: [[David Perell]] DateFinished:: URL:: https://perell.com/essay/peter-thiel/ Rating:: 8 Tags:: #🟥 # Peter Thiel’s Religion  - [[Mimetic Theory]] - [[Unlock Your Potential By Creating A Higher Self To Aspire Towards]] - [[Short horizon thinking is the essence of evil]] - Perell claims the loss of technological progression will lead to an endless cycle of mimetic violence unlike any we have ever seen in history. I'm unconvinced, considering we are living in the most peaceful time in history *ever.* ## Highlights Human culture began with a murder. That culture was fueled by rage and rivalry, which led to violence. Managing that violence is the secret reason for all religious and political institutions. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkrf8tmjjera91w9yq1qqx7c)) - Note: David's writing style: - Interest - Questioning - Vivid - Emotional - Reverential - Uses a lot of quotes - Lots of time spent explaining the structure of his argument and where he will go next - He heightens things to make them sound more important than they are, in my opinion. But it certainly grips you. - Musical, but doesn't have many sentences on their own line, and no bold. The two brothers represent two halves of the human psyche: Abel represents the part that looks up towards the transcendent, where Cain represents the other that looks down towards death and destruction. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkrd2n7nfpy3r7b4w03tzdeb)) - Note: Managing violence is the core reason for all religious and political institutions. The Cain and Abel story represents the two sides of the human psyche. One that looks up toward transcendence. The other looks down toward destruction and violence. Some see religious as the foundation of understanding everything. Others see it as superfluous as X. Three simple statements will lead us towards our ultimate answer about the importance of religion: 1. Don’t copy your neighbors 2. Time moves forward 3. The future will be different from the present ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkrd633knq1xrt2yccm39sew)) **Thiel’s Intellectual Background** ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkrd9etnffhk6spqhahnvqx1)) Mimetic Theory rests on the assumption that all our cultural behaviors, beginning with the acquisition of language by children are imitative. He sees the world as a theatre of envy, where, like mimes, we imitate other people’s desires. His theory builds upon the kinds of books and people that modern people tend to ignore: *The Bible*, classic fiction writers such as Marcel Proust, and playwrights like Shakespeare. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkr0wpjh4gdxxbm2zgztng2f)) Mimetic conflict emerges when two people desire the same, scarce resource. Like lions in a cage, we mirror our enemies, fight because of our sameness, and ascend status hierarchies instead of providing value for society. Only by observing others do we learn how and what to desire. Our Mimetic nature is simultaneously our biggest strength and biggest weakness. When it goes right, imitation is a shortcut to learning. But when it spirals out of control, Mimetic imitation leads to envy, violence, and bitter, ever-escalating violence. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkr0xc1cdbp0j6r50nmg6dxn)) - Note: This reminds me of socialization. We are socialized to want certain things. We socially compare ourselves not with an objective metric but with those in our immediate environment. The good news, is we can pick who we compare ourselves with by crafting our social environment, including the online one. Thiel credits Girard with inspiring him to switch careers. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkrdm96z5wq5rqna4mab128f)) - Note: Thiel switched careers because he realized being a lawyer made him tread his values. Like crabs stuck in a bucket, they were taught to desperately claw their way to the top, toppling others higher than them on the way up. Instead of striving for some transcendental ideal like improving the constitution or battling for justice or something else, they were battling for law school employment and more. Competition distracts us from things that are more important, meaningful, or valuable. We [buy](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fight_club/quotes/) things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like. Trapped in a never-ending rat race, lawyers climbed the corporate ladder by winning favor with partners at the top. Others engaged in small acts of sabotage against their coworkers. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkr1382r7mvczy1wh3vf31qm)) - Note: I think this is too great of a blanket term. Sometimes, competition encourages us to greater heights. For example, the human body hasn't changed much in the last few thousand years. But the heights of human achievement have skyrocketed. Not just because of technology, but because someone else showing something is possible, motivates others to go even further. However, later on in the essay he explains comparison isn't a net negative. We naturally compare ourselves to others all the time. The thing that differentiates good comparison from bad is who we compare ourselves to. Thiel believes we should compare ourselves to some transcendent ideal, model, and ourselves. This way we can be inspired to grow without sacrificing our values in competition. **How Girard Influenced Thiel in Business** ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkrds7gbbxep3a51vrhfysk1)) PayPal overhauled the organization chart every three months. By repositioning people, the company avoided most conflicts before they even started. Employees were evaluated on one single criterion, and no two employees had the same one. They were responsible for one job, one metric, and one part of the business. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkrdwadg9pp9vnsqjx9nn4hx)) - Note: By making each employee responsible for a different metric, one job, and one part of the business, Thiel made it so they didn't compete over doing a better job. You would think this might help them cooperate, however. Across PayPal and Facebook, Peter Thiel’s philosophy can be summarized in a single sentence: Don’t copy your neighbors. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkr1by6wh50w9frebywrzbv7)) #### Section 1: Don’t Copy Your Neighbors Everybody imitates. We cannot resist Mimetic contagion, and that will never change. But there are bad ways to copy and good ways to copy. Bad imitators follow the crowd and mirror false idols, while good imitators copy a transcendent goal or figure. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkre09t2twzd0skqwa24482e)) two people who share the same desire will be united by it. But if they cannot share what they both desire, their relationship will transform. They’ll turn from the best of friends to the worst of enemies. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkre13f08nhefgyvdkmrbm2h)) - Note: This is just simply overly simplistic. Not all competition over scarce resources turns into hostile conflict. It could be friendly competition, in which people compete over something but don't take the outcome too seriously. This is what competition in games is like. Generally, while playing a game, you don't take winning or losing too badly. Girard wrote that social differences and rigid hierarchies maintain peace. When those differences collapse, the infectious spread of violence accelerates. The fiercest rivalries emerge not between people who are different, but people who are the same. The more two people share the same desires, the greater the risk of Mimetic competition. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkr1emwtndsg9q8sv52vbj30)) - Note: I noticed this with my brother and I in high school. We were more alike than now and in the same household; therefore, we fought over scarce resources and our parent's attention. The more we resemble our peers the more likely we will get in mimetic conflict with them because we imitate those we want to be like or are around us. Mimetic desire is innate, not learned. We copy other people spontaneously, automatically, and unconsciously. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkrezpkakkm79j0gzymnwq2y)) strong businesses aim to be unique, not the best. Trying to outcompete rivals leads to mediocre performance, so companies should avoid competition and seek to create value instead of beating rivals. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkr1rw6c01btdxdxb78ezjkp)) - Note: This I completely agree with. It relates to Nicolas Cole's philosophy of creating a category of one. The No Ocean Strategy. Competing with another business is a losing game. Instead, create something so unique you don't even compete with them in the first place. When you compete to be the best, you imitate. When you compete to be unique, you innovate. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkrf1x6jcsfa3sfcg2jqhftj)) Thiel offers an alternative to perfect competition: monopoly. Without competition, they can produce at the quantity and price combination that maximizes their profits. Successful strategies attract imitators, so the best businesses are difficult to copy. Firms in a competitive industry who sell a commodity product cannot turn a profit. But companies who have a monopoly can set their own prices since they offer an in-demand product that cannot be replicated. Monopoly firms are big fish in a small pond. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkr22dmsf9vth38ggzbdnkfk)) - Note: Content creators are the best personal monopolies. It's impossible to copy their unique interests and voice. They are a niche of one. #### Section 2: Time Moves Forward To Peter Thiel, short-term thinking is the essence of sin. Like *The Bible*, he advises us to make plans and sacrifice the present for the future. Greatness is like chess. To win, you must study the end game and work towards the one you want to see. Thiel’s favorite chess player was José Raúl Capablanca who [said](https://amzn.to/2JSBbo5): “To begin you must study the end. You don’t want to be the first to act, you want to be the last man standing.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkr2n1tra8mee742xxrzhcdj)) - Note: This reminds me of psychological energy. By creating a long-term vision of our lives--even if it changes--we can leverage energy from imagining our future selves for the present. It's impossible to steer a ship anyway if you don't know where you're going. Sure, you could set sail and end up somewhere. But is that place really where you want to be going? Thiel concludes that time is linear, not cyclical. The future won’t look like the present. It will either be much worse or much better. Or more explicitly, “stagnation leads straight to apocalypse.” If we don’t, we’ll suffer from limitless Mimetic violence; and if things go well, we might find our place in God’s peaceful kingdom. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkr2tms96sq61cr8c1txnzdv)) - Note: The problem with cyclical perceptions of time is they don't promote long-term horizon thinking. They promote short-term thinking and stagnation. And they create a melting pot for mimetic scapegoating and violence. The cycle is an imitation of neighbors and creates desire over shared scarce resources. This leads to violence, which leads to scapegoating, which leads to peace. Which leads to imitation of neighbors. But can't this cycle also occur in a linear perception of time. When we pursue optionality, we avoid bold decisions. Like anything meaningful, venturing into the unknown is an act of faith. It demands responsibility. You‘ll have to take a stand, trust your decision, and ignore the taunts of outside dissent. But a life without conviction is a life controlled by the futile winds of fashion. Or worse, the hollow echoes of the crowd. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkr3w3g3pegyn723hpd7k91q)) - Note: This reminds me of hugging the X axis. everybody knows that a team with belief is hard to beat. But a team that doesn’t believe they can win is hopeless. The importance of belief and momentum is evident to any shouting fan in any arena across the country. And yet, few consider its importance at the societal level. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkr3yyr87x2metbmrdty0fya)) - Note: As is explained in How To Take Over The World, more battles are lost by loss of hope then by loss of numbers. Technological growth is the best way to reduce suffering in the world. Technological progress has stagnated since the 1970s, which contributes to the vile political atmosphere and the pessimism of modern Westerners. Thiel says we should acknowledge our lack of progress, dream up a vision of Definite Optimism, and guided by Christian theology, work to make it a reality. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkr40cz3rw52d6mabv1nfj95)) - Note: Why is technological progress THE best way to reduce suffering? Humans were arguably happier as hunter-gatherers.