029. 1517 at Home: Byrne Hobart on the Mimetic Theory of Bubbles

Why do economic bubbles happen? Historically, theorists have proposed competing theories like the efficient market hypothesis, the easy money theory, and a “heroes and villains” theory. In this workshop and roundtable discussion we explored the mimetic desire theory of bubbles. Based on Rene Girard’s theory of mimetic desire, the mimetic theory of bubbles states that bubbles arise not from copying behavior, but from copying desire. Byrne Hobart (@byrnehobart)is a finance and technology analyst and writer. His career spans working as an investment analyst at large-scale hedge funds and as a research provider to digital marketing, strategy, and business development at media conglomerates and startups. His writing and research interests cover economic history, technology trends, the startup industry, and applied finance. He has been cited and quoted across business and technology publications like Stratechery, Techcrunch, NPR, and the New York Times. His newsletter is at diff.substack.com.  This is part of the 1517 At Home series of live workshops. You can request an invite at 1517fund.com/at-home.