as if

is the ethical structure of social reality whereby we act 'as if' the president works for the people and 'as if' the party works for the working class. As soon as the (material) belief is lost, the very texture of the social field disintegrates.

What we call 'social reality' is in the last resort an ethical construction... it is supported by a certain as if (we act as if we believe in the almightiness of bureaucracy, as if the President incarnates the Will of the People, as if the Party expresses the objective interest of the working class. . .). As soon as the belief (which, let us remind ourselves again, is definitely not to be onceived at a 'psychological' level: it is embodied, materialized, in the effective functioning of the social field) is lost, the very texture of the social field disintegrates' (Zizek 1989 : 36)

as if, n.Definitions

as if