**Geoff ** I cannot for the life of me remember which of Girard’s’ books the anthropological detail of the African mask comes from - but it’s probably from ‘Things Hidden from the foundation of the world’.
I think your series is excellent Geoff and there was no need for you to hold it back. I haven’t seen the later articles yet – I think regarding Girard, he’s very interesting about how the Satan is the cause of ‘scandals’ and in defining the mechanism of scandals. You could take a look at ‘Satan fall like Lightning ‘regarding this sometime is you haven’t already seen it discussed elsewhere (Satan Fall like Lightning’ is easily Girard’s most accessible book and along with James G, Williams 'A Girard Reader’ provides the best overview).
Steve and Geoff (both) regarding Girard and solutions to human violence – well he’d class himself as a pacifist but also a pragmatist (which probably means that he isn’t actually a pacifist when push comes to shove).
I think Girard is realistic that we cannot get rid of mimetic rivalry then – and that we shouldn’t fool ourselves about this. So he’s not going to argue against the need for ‘restraining force’ and for abolishing the police, the judiciary and the army I think (he’s not a utopian).
Also he understands the benefits of social customs in which rivalrous desire can be expressed in harmless and cathartic ways. For instance games of Football with cheering ecstatic crowds are in many ways equivalent to gladiatorial combats – and there is intense mimetic rivalry between teams and their supporters. However slaughter on the pitch is figurative not actual and with proper crowd management violence between supporters can be minimised, even when the ’gods’ of patriotism or inter-state rivalries have been invoked by the playing of anthems. (I know that in rugby the New Zealand All Blacks actually do a Maori war dance as preliminaries for soft combat).
Likewise Girard is – surprisingly (perhaps) – broadly in favour of capitalism as an economic system because it minimises rivalry by distributing the objects of desire widely – although he is a strong promoter of Catholic moral theology regarding the need to have a social market and guard against the excesses of economic individualism.
Girard actually doesn’t set out a political/social project. He’s not that kind of thinker and he’s certainly not a guru offering a universal tin opener. Although his range is breathtaking he’s a humble man. He provides certain key anthropological insights into human culture on the nature of desire, the scapegoating mechanism, and the unmasking of the scapegoating myth and opens up discussion with theologians (and others) from these first principles – and there is much latitude for friendly disagreement among Girardians. Indeed he has set up the Colloquium on Violence and Religion for this ongoing discussion to take place.
All the best
Dick