Reflections on the American Dream
Book ticketsOrganised by:
Psychoanalysis and Politics
Description
By RENÉE DANZIGER – May 21st at 6 pm London time/ 7 pm Berlin time/ 8 pm Cape Town and Jerusalem time/ 1 pm New York time/ 12 noon Chicago time / 10 am Vancouver time
Part of the Psychoanalysis and Politics series Crises and Transmission
The idea of the American dream has long held a special place in American culture and society. However, alongside stories of rags-to-riches success lies pervasive structural disadvantage and discrimination which prevent many from ever achieving their dream, no matter how hard they work. The enduring and widespread belief in the achievability of the American dream means that failure to achieve it can cause terrible feelings of shame and despair. This paper looks at some of the ways these painful feelings are split off and denied, which in turn helps to prop up continuing belief in the dream. Newly elected President Trump has both exploited and boosted these defenses through his vilification of ‘illegal immigrants’ whom he and his supporters repeatedly blame for the failure of many Americans to achieve their dream.
Renée Danziger is a psychoanalyst in the British Psychoanalytic Society and Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Psychoanalysis Unit at University College London. She is a training analyst for the Independent Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Training (IPCAPA) and for the Tavistock Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy training. She is a social scientist by background and holds a D.Phil in Politics. She recently published the book Radical Revenge: Shame, Blame and the Urge for Retaliation, Free Association Books, 2020.
