---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A mimetic crisis is when people become…"
description: "\"A mimetic crisis is when people become undifferentiated. There are no more social classes, there are no more social differences, and so forth.\" — Rene ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/rene-girard-8541_crisis_a-mimetic-crisis-is-when-people-become-u_2530366.jpg"
---

#  A mimetic crisis is when people become undifferentiated…

![“A mimetic crisis is when people become undifferentiated. There are no more social classes, there are no more social differences, and so forth.” quote by Rene Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/rene-girard-8541_crisis_a-mimetic-crisis-is-when-people-become-u_2530366.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/rene-girard-8541_crisis_a-mimetic-crisis-is-when-people-become-u_2530366.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/rene-girard-8541_crisis_a-mimetic-crisis-is-when-people-become-u_2530366.jpg)

> “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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

When societies lose distinct roles, they become uniform, erasing class and social differences.

**In simple terms:** Loss of distinct roles leads to uniformity.

Key Takeaway

Preserve diversity.

Themes

society uniformity identity

Mood

thoughtful analytical

Type

philosophical critical

When to use this quote

- education reform
- community building
- policy making

Key Concepts

social theory mimicry

Questions to Reflect On

- What unique roles exist in your community?
- How can diversity be encouraged?

A Different Perspective

Uniformity can stifle innovation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Crisis People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis-people-1337445/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Forth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forth/) [Mimetic Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mimetic-crisis-1337442/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Undifferentiated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-undifferentiated-1337444/) [Undifferentiated Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undifferentiated-social-1337443/)

## Related quotes

> [What I call a mimetic crisis is a situation of conflict so intense that on both sides people act the same way and talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/what-i-call-a-mimetic-crisis-is-a-situation-of-conflict-so-intense/)

[Rene Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [“During a crisis, some people stepped outside their own limitations and performed heroically. Others medicated or wallowed in self-pity. Anderson disappointed her. No wonder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-sellers/during-a-crisis-some-people-stepped-outside-their-own-limitations-and/)

[L.J. Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-sellers/)

> [For far too many, the housing crisis has become a human crisis, with people being criminalised who should instead be protected as our most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/layla-moran/for-far-too-many-the-housing-crisis-has-become-a-human-crisis-with/)

[Layla Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/layla-moran/)

> [We've fallen into a fin-de-siecle period of crisis in which people believe only the things they see right in front of them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariko-mori/we-ve-fallen-into-a-fin-de-siecle-period-of-crisis-in-which-people/)

[Mariko Mori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariko-mori/)

> [In every crisis, people do not respond like a school of fish. Some people become immobilized. Some people become very angry, some commit suicide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/in-every-crisis-people-do-not-respond-like-a-school-of-fish-some/)

[Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/)

> [“whenever there’s a crisis if you can get people to eating normally things get better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whenever-there-s-a-crisis-if-you-can-get-people-to-eating-normally/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“A country is at a worse crisis when its people do not understand its politics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkosinathi-ngomane/a-country-is-at-a-worse-crisis-when-its-people-do-not-understand-its/)

[Nkosinathi Ngomane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkosinathi-ngomane/)

> [It's too bad that it takes egregious behavior or some kind of crisis to get people to take notice and get clearer about things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-buffett/it-s-too-bad-that-it-takes-egregious-behavior-or-some-kind-of-crisis/)

[Peter Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-buffett/)

> [In times of crisis, people reach for meaning. Meaning is strength. Our survival may depend on our seeking and finding it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/in-times-of-crisis-people-reach-for-meaning-meaning-is-strength-our/)

[Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/)

> [You are greater than anything that can happen to you. In a big and terrifying crisis, people find within themselves a power and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/you-are-greater-than-anything-that-can-happen-to-you-in-a-big-and/)

[Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/)

> [Democracy depends on people speaking out, and in times of great crisis, on people creating a commotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/democracy-depends-on-people-speaking-out-and-in-times-of-great-crisis/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [Our state is in crisis. Our people are hurting. Now is the time when we all must resist the traditional, selfish call to protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-christie/our-state-is-in-crisis-our-people-are-hurting-now-is-the-time-when-we/)

[Chris Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-christie/)

> [In time of crisis people want to know that you care, more than they care what you know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/in-time-of-crisis-people-want-to-know-that-you-care-more-than-they/)

[Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/)

> [The more studies that come out that talk about concussions and so forth, it makes me wonder. I wonder, more importantly than the stroke,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/the-more-studies-that-come-out-that-talk-about-concussions-and-so/)

[Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/)

> [A lot of people hurl themselves into relationships to lose themselves, but I think the best relationships help us to be more ourselves, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/a-lot-of-people-hurl-themselves-into-relationships-to-lose-themselves/)

[Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/)

## More by Rene Girard

> [If you scapegoat someone, it's a third party that will be aware of it. It won't be you. Because you will believe you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/if-you-scapegoat-someone-it-s-a-third-party-that-will-be-aware-of-it/)

[Rene Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [“There is no culture without a tomb and no tomb without a culture; in the end the tomb is the first and only cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/there-is-no-culture-without-a-tomb-and-no-tomb-without-a-culture-in/)

[René Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [The true Resurrection is based not on the mythical lie of the guilty victim who deserves to die, but on the rectification of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/the-true-resurrection-is-based-not-on-the-mythical-lie-of-the-guilty/)

[Rene Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [“The good son imitates the father with such passion that father and son become each other's chief stumbling block - a situation the indifferent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/the-good-son-imitates-the-father-with-such-passion-that-father-and/)

[René Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [Individualism is a formidable lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/individualism-is-a-formidable-lie/)

[Rene Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [Instead of blaming victimization on the victims, the Gospels blame it on the victimizers. What the myths systematically hide, the Bible reveals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/instead-of-blaming-victimization-on-the-victims-the-gospels-blame-it/)

[Rene Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [Every time I could escape from Sunday church, I did, from the age of twelve until about thirty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/every-time-i-could-escape-from-sunday-church-i-did-from-the-age-of/)

[Rene Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [I do not read many periodicals, and I have little or no contact with progressive Christians, so I don't really know what goes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/i-do-not-read-many-periodicals-and-i-have-little-or-no-contact-with/)

[Rene Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [“The revolutionaries thought they would be destroying vanity when they destroyed the privileges of the noble. But vanity is like a virulent cancer that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/the-revolutionaries-thought-they-would-be-destroying-vanity-when-they/)

[René Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [I think that historical processes have meaning and that we have to accept this - or else face utter despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/i-think-that-historical-processes-have-meaning-and-that-we-have-to/)

[Rene Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [“So long as globalization was slow in coming, everyone hoped and prayed that it would come soon. The unity of the world's nations was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/so-long-as-globalization-was-slow-in-coming-everyone-hoped-and-prayed/)

[René Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [“Nietzsche is a marvelous antidote to all fundamentally anti-Biblical efforts to turn mythology into a kind of Bible, and that is the project of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/nietzsche-is-a-marvelous-antidote-to-all-fundamentally-anti-biblical/)

[René Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [“Even in the most closed cultures men believe that they are free and open to the universal; their differential character makes the narrowest cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/even-in-the-most-closed-cultures-men-believe-that-they-are-free-and/)

[René Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [Each person must ask what his relationship is to the scapegoat. I am not aware of my own, and I am persuaded that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/each-person-must-ask-what-his-relationship-is-to-the-scapegoat-i-am/)

[Rene Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

> [“We must renounce the gambit of "good" and "bad" - even in its inverted form. We must acknowledge that misapprehensions abound, that violence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/we-must-renounce-the-gambit-of-good-and-bad-even-in-its-inverted-form/)

[René Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

[Explore all 71 Rene Girard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/)

## More Crisis quotes

> [People in great groups have blinders on. Their work is all they see. They value failures as learning opportunities. They are optimistic, not realistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/people-in-great-groups-have-blinders-on-their-work-is-all-they-see/)

[Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/)

> [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/)

[David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/)

> [The crisis of our diminishing water resources is just as severe (if less obviously immediate) as any wartime crisis we have ever faced. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wright/the-crisis-of-our-diminishing-water-resources-is-just-as-severe-if/)

[Jim Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-wright/)

> [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/)

[Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/)

> [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/)

[Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/)

> [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/)

[Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/)

> [In a couple of decades you have half of the wells that are drilled right now, and you're talking about numbers in the millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/in-a-couple-of-decades-you-have-half-of-the-wells-that-are-drilled/)

[Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/)

> [Disasters affect every state, and North Carolinians have given our own tax dollars to help neighbors and those in other states in times of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-cooper/disasters-affect-every-state-and-north-carolinians-have-given-our-own/)

[Roy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-cooper/)

> [Things happen too quickly, crisis follows crisis, the soil of our minds is perpetually disturbed. Each of us, to relieve his feelings, broadcasts his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/things-happen-too-quickly-crisis-follows-crisis-the-soil-of-our-minds/)

[Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/)

> [When this coronavirus crisis is over, what kind of society will we be? A more important question is what kind of society do we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lucas/when-this-coronavirus-crisis-is-over-what-kind-of-society-will-we-be/)

[Caroline Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lucas/)

> [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/)

[Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/)

> [The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-turning-points-of-lives-are-not-the-great-moments-the-real-crises/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [Firstly, economic globalisation has brought prosperity and development to many countries, but also financial crises to Asia, Latin America and Russia, and increasing poverty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-lindh/firstly-economic-globalisation-has-brought-prosperity-and-development/)

[Anna Lindh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-lindh/)

> [If we Europeans are not in a state to be able to solve the refugee crisis ourselves, if we only depend on Plan B…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-kurz/if-we-europeans-are-not-in-a-state-to-be-able-to-solve-the-refugee/)

[Sebastian Kurz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-kurz/)

> [Urbanisation is not a crisis but an opportunity, seeing it as a crisis is wrong. And not just villages, we want everyone to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/urbanisation-is-not-a-crisis-but-an-opportunity-seeing-it-as-a-crisis/)

[Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/)

[Browse all 3,419 Crisis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "A mimetic crisis is when people become undifferentiated. There are no more social classes, there are no more social differences, and so forth.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rene Girard"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/a-mimetic-crisis-is-when-people-become-undifferentiated-there-are-no/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Crisis"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/a-mimetic-crisis-is-when-people-become-undifferentiated-there-are-no/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/rene-girard-8541_crisis_a-mimetic-crisis-is-when-people-become-u_2530366.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/rene-girard-8541_crisis_a-mimetic-crisis-is-when-people-become-u_2530366.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/rene-girard-8541_crisis_a-mimetic-crisis-is-when-people-become-u_2530366.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A mimetic crisis is when people become undifferentiated. There are no more social classes, there are no more…” — Rene Girard",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Rene Girard",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "A mimetic crisis is when people...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/a-mimetic-crisis-is-when-people-become-undifferentiated-there-are-no/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/a-mimetic-crisis-is-when-people-become-undifferentiated-there-are-no/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
