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Deconstruction, postmodernism and ’the American Dream’ - How can a culture which is known for its pragmatism, its longing for efficiency, its high degree of organisation have a Dream as a motor for development ? What has always been intriguing for Europeans is the search for an explanation of the stability of that typically idealized picture, whereas the American reality can so easily be grasped in frightening figures of poverty, violence and discrimination. While searching for an explanation for this phenomenon, Europeans very much like the presupposition that American philosophers avoid the confrontation between the Dream and reality. We are therefore not surprised at all that the much criticised postmodernism, for which the copy is as valuable as the original, serves as a successful frame of reference for all kinds of philosophical, cultural and social analyses. With this contribution we are searching for an explanation for the popularity of postmodernism and deconstruction by analysing the attitude towards reality, which is typical of the mythical core of the Dream. We presuppose that both the Dream and deconstruction and postmodernism are idealistic systems which are very much alike as to their basic premises. We shall discover that both the Dream and deconstruction and postmodernism are very critical of the sheer possibility of giving a meaning, now and in the future, which means also of the possibility of fundamental criticism. This leads Americans to a strong faith in pragmatism, while deconstruction and postmodernism are convinced — and this is ambiguous— that meaning can never be invariably determined.
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How to Cite: Laconte, L. (1996) “Deconstructie, postmodernisme en "the American dream"”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen. 41(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.95233