Girard Predicts Apocalypse | Mimetic Theory

Christianity exposed the injustice of scapegoating and, in doing so, robbed us of the cathartic tools which early human societies used to contain and resolve violence. Today, the Katechon which prevents violence from overflowing is three institutions that limit and channel violence: Law, Capitalism, and War. By tracing a genealogy for all three institutions, Girard comes to the terrifying conclusion that these final bulwarks against apocalypse are on the verge of collapse. More precisely, their collapse is already underway. Some links to further guide your study: Join my email list to be notified of future episodes: greatbooks.io Full transcript: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnath... TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Introduction 00:03:13 Violence in Modernity 00:09:05 Mimetic Contagion in Modernity 00:11:21 Scapegoating in Modernity 00:14:20 Divinization and Institutionalization in Modernity 00:18:51 The Katechon of Law 00:21:42 The Monopoly Over Violence 00:28:08 The Price of Equality 00:34:54 Kinetic and Potential Violence 00:37:15 Prestige, Catharsis, and Violence 00:41:50 The Logic of Retribution and the Logic of Guilt 00:46:05 The Katechon of Capitalism 00:55:36 Capitalism and Violence 00:59:17 Incendiary Global Trade 01:02:32 The Katechon of War 01:06:58 The Gentleman's War 01:10:38 Napoleon and Total War 01:14:56 The Bomb 01:17:47 The Case Against Political Action 01:21:42 Conversion 01:27:21 Holderlin and the Case for Withdrawal 01:30:45 The End