The goal with modern irony is in a sense the same as with Socratic
irony: to expose people who are complacent or overly confident.
The
ironist pretends to go along with things when dealing with such people,
but all the while, he subtly unndermines their claims and arrogant
dispositions indirectly with irony. So in this way the ironist, who
might be in a less respected position socially, can nonethless prove
himself superior to people who are generally regarded as the pillars of
burgeois society. The ironist thus takes special pleasure in fooling those people who are honored or hold prestigious positions in life.
Most
people are bound by certain customs and conventions of society. Their
actions are in a sense dictated by such things. The ironist, by
contrast, rejects all such established customs and conventions. He
regards himself as being free from them sine he's seen through their
facade of legitimacy. He knows that such things are only traditional or
conventional but have no absolute grounding.
"Actuality loses its validity" for the ironist.
