Bio: (1900-1980) German-American psychologist and sociologist. Erich Fromm received his doctorate in sociology from the University of Heidelberg, and later focused on the study of psychoanalysis. In the late 1920s, it became part of the Frankfurt School of Critical theory. Due to the rise of Nazism in Germany, Fromm emigrated to the United States in 1934. He has lectured at Columbia University, the University of New York, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Throughout his career, he also had a private psychiatric practice.

                                    From Freud to Marx

Fromm's psychological theories were most influenced by the ideas of Sigmund Freud, while his sociological and socio-psychological theories were equally influenced by the works of Marx and Freud. Fromm believed that neither Freud's "materialist psychology" nor Marx's historical materialism were in themselves sufficient to provide an adequate explanation of man and society. Freud's theory explains human behavior as a consequence of complicated relationships between innate biological instincts and the life experience of an individual. On the other hand, Marx studies how the material conditions of life affect the emergence of the social superstructure, which then directs individual behavior. Fromm set himself the task of making a connection between these two approaches, and he called his approach "analytical social psychology", by which he wants to explore how different socio-economic structures affect the selection and adaptation of human instincts to behave in line with the needs of the system. It is the difference between how different societies adapt the human psyche to different socio-economic structures that creates a situation in which that same type of behavior, which is considered "sick" in one society, is considered "healthy" and desirable in another society.

The emergence of capitalism is associated with the spread of Protestant ideas. Protestantism requires individuals to be committed to their work, fulfill their duties, and have strict control over their sexual urges. A person who develops under the influence of such imperatives has, in Freud's terminology, an „anal character“, which is reflected in the desire for aggression and destruction. A society shaped by such ideas has a "patricentric" structure and a patriarchal-authoritarian cultural pattern. In contrast, socialist ideology seeks to develop a "matricentric" structure, characterized by values ​​of happiness, abundance, and solidarity. Fromm connects Marxist socialism with the „oral character“. Fromm believed that people are not doomed to forever submit to the demands of a society that strives to suppress undesirable individual urges. Due to the inability to satisfy instincts, instead of transmitting dissatisfaction to other areas (sublimation process), people can change objective social conditions to create a society that will be better harmonized with innate human instincts.

                                   Escape from Freedom

In his first book, Escape from Freedom (1941), Fromm explores the history of the development of the authoritarian order in Western Europe in the Modern Age. The authoritarian order in Europe sought to restrict human freedom. Fromm distinguishes between two basic forms of freedom: "freedom from" (negative freedom) and "freedom for" (positive freedom). Capitalist society and Protestantism promote individualism reflected in selfishness and greed, and give people only "freedom from." Individualism brings people to a state of loneliness and helplessness, so they strive to find security under the auspices of the state, institutions, and political parties. Such people connect with the leader through an authoritarian and sadomasochistic relationship. As is a consequence of unfulfilled life, the repressed life energy accumulates, and the energy of destruction grows stronger. There is a denial of true human nature, so people adapt to society through conformism and mimicry. Instead of a real self, people have a false self. Fromm calls this rejection of his true nature an "escape from freedom." National Socialism brought the escape from freedom to a climax, because it demanded the complete sacrifice of the individual to a whole, and because it strengthened the love for the strong and the hatred for the weak. But the escape from freedom is also common in democratic capitalist societies because pseudo-democracy and false freedom rule in these societies. Few people achieve positive freedom, which is reflected in the free will of fully integrated individuals.

                                        The Sane Society

In the book The Sane Society (1955), Fromm examines whether modern societies are healthy, following the example of psychoanalysis, which examines whether a person is sick or healthy. This book is the last part of the trilogy that consists of the books Escape from Freedom and Man for Himself (1947). The pathological state of society is a consequence of inadequate satisfaction of social needs. Man's needs are a product of the conditions of his existence. There are five basic needs, and they can be realized in two opposite ways, one of which is healthy and the other sick. Fromm makes a list of five pairs of reactions to the different needs, of which the first part of the pair is a positive response and the second part of the pair is a negative response. These couples are: relatedness vs. narcissism; creativeness vs. destructiveness; brotherliness vs. incest; individuality vs. herd conformity; reason vs irrationality.

The enormous economic development of capitalist democracies in the 19th and 20th centuries and the wealth that development brought did not lead to an improvement in fulfilling human needs. That economic progress was based on exploitation, destruction, alienation, selfishness, competition, and wastefulness. There is a creation of new idols - goods and money. In the twentieth century, there are three answers to the development of capitalism. The first two answers, fascism, and Stalinism, are based on centralized bureaucratic dictatorship and authoritarian idolatry. The third answer is "supercapitalism", a new form of capitalism that uses robots and communication technologies to increase production productivity to the most possible limit.

The development of technology increases the dependence of workers on the employer, and the work itself becomes boring and monotonous, which leads to social atomization and self-isolation of people. Fromm is not a pessimist and believes that a fundamental transformation of capitalist societies can take place. This can be achieved by decentralizing decision-making in the economy, introducing self-management in enterprises, reducing spending, and strengthening the social security system. It is also necessary to introduce decentralization of decision-making in politics by lowering decision-making to the level of small communities. In the sphere of culture, it is necessary to introduce new ideals and goals and promote art. Fromm calls his vision of a healthy society "humanistic communitarian socialism".

                                      Biophilic Society

In the book The Art of Loving (1956), Fromm states that human aspirations for solidarity, rationality, and spiritual development are biologically innate needs. Such a "love of life" (biophilia) in a healthy society could overcome opposing "necrophilous" aspirations. In the book, The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (1973) Fromm analyzes, in detail, the different theoretical approaches to human aggression. He criticizes behaviorism and ethology (sociobiology), as approaches that view aggression in the wrong way. Although aggression is innate in people, cruelty is not, since it is a product of society. He distinguishes between "benign" and "malignant" aggression. Benign aggression is instinctive and adaptive because it serves to defend against danger. Malignant aggression tends to injure or destroy an opponent. Malignant aggression is shaped by the "necrophilous" character of society.

However, some primitive societies have a biophilic character. There exist matrifocal and matrilocal organization in these societies and they are characterized by non-violence, egalitarianism, and sexual freedoms. Fromm believes that the best qualities should be taken from both matricentric societies (love and equality) and patricentric societies (rationality and creativity), and such a synthesis would create the best social character. The peace and environmental movements that grew stronger in the West in the 1960s and 1970s gave Fromm hope that the transformation of these societies into biophilic ones was possible.

Main works

Escape from Freedom (1941);

Man for Himself (1947);                                    

Psychoanalysis and Religion (1950);

The Forgotten Language: An Introduction to the Understanding of Dreams, Fairy Tales, and Myths (1951); 

The Sane Society (1955);

The Art of Loving (1956);

Sigmund Freud's Mission: An Analysis of his Personality and Influence (1959);

Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis (1960);

Marx's Concept of Man (1961);

The Dogma of Christ: and Other Essays on Religion, Psychology and Culture (1963);

Socialist Humanism (1965);

You Shall Be as Gods: A Radical Interpretation of the Old Testament and its Tradition (1966);

The Revolution of Hope, Toward a Humanized Technology (1968);

The Nature of Man (1968);  

Social Character in a Mexican Village (1970);

The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (1973);

To Have or to Be? (1976);

Greatness and Limitation of Freud's Thought (1979);

On Disobedience and Other Essays (1981).