Routledge Classics
4 total works
Following the publication of the seminal Fear of Freedom, Erich Fromm applied his unique vision to a critique of contemporary capitalism in The Sane Society. Where the former dealt with man's historic inability to come to terms with his sense of isolation, and the dangers to which this can lead, The Sane Society took his theories one step further. In doing so it established Fromm as one of the most controversial political thinkers of his generation. Anaylsing how individuals conform to contemporary capitalist and patriarchal societies, the book was published to wide acclaim and even wider disapproval. It was a scathing indictment of modern capitalism and as such proved unwelcome to many. Unwelcome because much of what Fromm had to say was true. Today, as we settle into the challenges of the 21st century, Fromm's writings are just as relevant as when they were first written. Read it and decide for yourself - are you living in a sane society?
The problem of ethics and moral values is the main concern of this wide-ranging study. Erich Fromm argues that psychology cannot be divorced from ethics, and that it has a responsibility to frame objective standards of conduct. Fromm follows Jung in recognizing the importance of the moral factor in psychiatry but goes beyond Jung in proposing a new system of ethics on a scientific basis.
When he was 26, the great psychoanalyst and philosopher Erich Fromm abandoned Judaism, though he himself was descended from a long line of rabbis and the product of a devout Jewish upbringing. The title essay of this collection was first published in 1930, just four years after he made that first, decisive split. It was to point towards the future Fromm's work, presenting the view that an understanding of basic human needs is essential to the understanding of society and mankind itself. The following essays too, show a man who would eventually establish himself as a major thinker, producing some of that era's most influential and astute political works.
A brilliant psychoanalytical and historical work which asks - is the fear of freedom the root of the twentieth century's predeliction for one or other kind of totalitarianism?.