The Irony of Faust
Berman refers to the story of Faust, a play that is inherently ironic. This is because Faust is so ambitious to achieve success, that he shoots himself in the foot. He makes a deal with the devil in order to gain more power, but ultimately this leaves him in a worse situation than he was before.
The Irony of "progression"
Although advancements in modern technology and innovative urban projects are often associated with positive change and progression, Berman shows that there is another side to modern advancements. Some of these “progressive” projects, such as the creation of the Bronx expressway, have dire consequences for some people. As such, Berman shows that progression isn’t necessarily progressive for everyone, but can sometimes be destructive.
The Irony of Unity
In the following passage, Berman explores the paradoxical nature of modernity in unifying people: "Modern environments and experiences cut across all boundaries of geography and ethnicity, of class and nationality, of religion and ideology: in this sense, modernity can be said to unite all mankind. But it is a paradoxical unity, a unity of disunity: it pours us all into a maelstrom of perpetual disintegration and renewal, of struggle and contradiction, of ambiguity and anguish." Although people are unified by modernity, they are unified in a state of frightening, perpetual flux. As such, unity is not necessarily a positive thing.
