We don’t form our desires alone. They take shape between us—among models, rivals, friends—and what takes shape there decides who we become, which institutions endure and which collapse, and what our technology is quietly making of us.
How a person’s relationship to communities shapes their identity, and the way to be a part of something without becoming completely of it.
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The landmark book on mimetic desire—why we want what other people want, and what to do about it.
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A new collected volume of essays edited by Luke on the social theorist René Girard, one of the most important thinkers of our age.
Learn more →Free · Curated Reading List
Two thousand years of essential ideas.
Luke’s curated list of books is a non-random walk through history. He carefully selected at least one book from each of the past 20 centuries, mining the overlooked years for wisdom that can be applied to your work and life.
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Conversations with Tyler
Luke Burgis talks to Tyler Cowen about mimetic desire, social contagion, Italy, and economics
Listen →92NY
Luke in conversation with The Atlantic’s David Brooks
Watch →The Understory Festival
“How does a person become real?” Luke interviewed by Angela Duckworth
Watch →The Cluny Institute
Luke and Stripe Co-Founder & CEO Patrick Collison on “New Aesthetics”
Watch →Because desire is mimetic — we borrow our wants from models, and those borrowed wants move everything from markets to marriages.
Conformity is quiet and contagious — the question is whether cultures protect the individual or slowly dissolve them into the group.
Burnout is a desire problem before it’s a management problem — work hollows out when it stops being a place where a person can become fully themselves.
Three cities — Athens, Jerusalem, Silicon Valley — are pulling civilization in different directions. The question is whether anyone is watching the interaction.
"One of my favorite current thinkers."Tyler Cowen — Conversations with Tyler, August 2026
"Luke Burgis masterfully shows us how to understand and manage our desires, and thus achieve more meaning and purpose in our lives and work."Arthur C. Brooks
“Luke Burgis will leave you rethinking your own motivations for months and maybe even years later.”Adam Grant
“Burgis shows you how to be authentically yourself.”Kim Scott — Radical Candor
A weekly compilation of Luke’s short-form thoughts and links—what he’s reading, watching, or looking at differently in the world. No essays—bullets.
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