"Each of us tends to think of ourselves as a "little god." It is often uncomfortable for us to acknowledge that our desires might not be entirely our own. To understand that we are products of other people’s desires—starting with our parents—requires a certain level of humility.

Humans have a natural tendency to group people into "insiders" and "outsiders." This is a never-ending process used to maintain group identity and social cohesion. However, this can lead to a dangerous cycle because we also have a natural inclination to transfer blame. Consequently, scapegoats are all around us. All it takes is for someone to stand out slightly to trigger the process of scapegoating. Once one person identifies an individual or group as problematic, it becomes much easier for a second, third, and fourth person to believe in that scapegoat's guilt.

The Power of Mimetic Desire

According to Luke Burgis, author of Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life, these behaviors are rooted in the work of René Girard. Girard, a brilliant 20th-century French thinker, observed that human desire is "mimetic," meaning it is imitative. We imitate the desires of others from the moment we are born. Within groups, this process is even more powerful and sits at the heart of the scapegoat mechanism; the more people engage in this mimetic process, the easier it is to convince ourselves of a scapegoat’s guilt.

What is Scapegoating?

A scapegoat is a person or group used to achieve a specific purpose. Scapegoating occurs when there is a fundamental truth that people do not want to acknowledge. By transferring blame onto a scapegoat and then expelling or eliminating them, a society can imagine that the root of its problems has been removed. This produces a sense of catharsis, relief, or healing. It feels good because it protects us from suffering; someone else pays the price for our sins and weaknesses.

Scapegoating also helps form group identity. Throughout history, moments of absolute social disorder are when scapegoats are most likely to be found. The process brings a moment of peace, allowing the group to feel they have identified and dealt with the problem.

The Unconscious Process

Crucially, the scapegoat mechanism is almost always subconscious. If we were aware that we were scapegoating, it wouldn't produce the desired cathartic effect. Scapegoats are often selected through an entirely unconscious, sometimes random process. They might simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or perhaps they deviated slightly from societal norms or broke a taboo.

Ultimately, the actual guilt or innocence of the target doesn't matter. While many scapegoats are innocent, a guilty person can be just as effective at providing catharsis. We see this in our culture through the ritualistic elements of the death penalty. From media coverage to the "last meal," capital punishment often functions more like a sacred, sacrificial ritual than a simple matter of criminal justice. It allows society to feel that "something good" has been done so they can move on.

Scapegoats in Daily Life

While history gives us massive examples like the Holocaust, scapegoating happens on a micro level every day. We see it in sports, such as when fans blame a single person like Steve Bartman for a loss, or when a struggling team fires its coach to create a fresh start. It happens in workplaces, the news media, and politics constantly.

The world is swarming with scapegoats, yet few of us believe we have any of our own. To break this cycle, we must look at the systems of desire we inhabit and ask: who are the people on the outside of our economies and political processes who are bearing the weight for the rest of us?"

Luke Burgis