When we describe human relations, we usually make them better than they are: gentle, peaceful, and so forth, whereas in reality, they are often competitive.

What I call a mimetic crisis is a situation of conflict so intense that on both sides people act the same way and talk the same way even though, or because, they are more and more hostile to each other.

A mimetic crisis is when people become undifferentiated. There are no more social classes, there are no more social differences, and so forth.

Rene Girard Quotes