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 Fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society. She has a DPhil in Politics and for a number of years worked at the World Health Organisation and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine on HIV/AIDS policy. She is particularly interested in the application of psychoanalytic thought to social and political issues. Her most recent book is Radical Revenge: Shame, Blame and the Urge for Retaliation, and she is currently working on a book about the American Dream.

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Images: Person holding American flag upwards against blue sky, by Josh Wilink, and Man wearing a bandana with flag design by Unsplash, both Freerange, Creative commons. 

Terms and conditions: Please register early. If you haven’t registered at least half an hour before the seminar starts, your participation cannot be guaranteed. Your ticket will only be refunded if the seminar is cancelled or postponed. If you have registered for a seminar and miss out for whatever reason, you can e-mail psychoanalysis.politics[at]gmail.com and ask for a private copy of the talk minus the discussion, which will be ready a few days after the event. For those who haven’t registered for a seminar, the video will be available for rental after a few days, see Films.