Girard's theory of desire. We desire what we perceive others to desire, and positive feedback produces ever-intensifying rivalry. The resulting conflict is resolved by choosing a scapegoat to expel from the community, and the unanimity of this violence is the foundation of civilization (rinse and repeat).
Girard saw the Christian gospels as a revelation of this mechanism, with God himself made scapegoat. This is a source of power for the gospels, but ruins the mechanism: with the modern concern for victims produced by Christianity's influence, the unanimous commitment to scapegoating can no longer be achieved. Increasingly elaborate social institutions are therefore needed to cope with ever-escalating rivalry.
Mimetic theory has been of increasing interest to the right wing in recent years (time of writing 2024).1 Peter Thiel studied under Girard and is a prominent advocate of his ideas (though his interpretations of Girard are somewhat less than faithful2).
John Ganz, “A Geometry of Desire,” Unpopular Front, December 2, 2023, https://www.unpopularfront.news/p/a-geometry-of-desire.
Paul Leslie, “From Philosophy to Power: The Misuse of René Girard by Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance and the American Right,” Salmagundi, nos. 226--227 (2025), https://salmagundi.skidmore.edu/articles/1176-from-philosophy-to-power.