By Adam Brownstein in Tokyo
Book of the Week: Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life by Luke Burgis.
Living in Japan, I have often marveled (sometimes cringed) at the intensity of East Asian rivalries. For about eight centuries, the strum and drang of relations between China and Japan, Japan and Korea, China and Korea have, in Ezra Pound’s parlance revolved around hot economics and chilly politics. Yet these nations find a way to make nice with far flung trading partners like Brazil, Canada and the EU.
It begs a question, why do proximity and similarity bread intense competition and the desire to have what our rivals have? Luke Burgis’ excellent book addresses this through the lens of ancient history (Ceasar came, saw and conquered because he wanted to be like Alexander the Great) and modern tech behemoths (witness the tragic culture of Zappos). It is a sobering, lucid take on why we want what others want and the toolkit to change this.
Also . . .
Why effective altruism is a dangerous philosophy (What’s Left)
Clouded Judgement – Crowdstrike vs. Snowflake 2023 Guidance 12.2.222
The Tokyo Yenta 