This book review was written by Eugene Kernes
“It is the thesis of this book that
modern man, freed from the bonds of pre-individualist society, which
simultaneously gave his security and limited him, has not gained freedom in the
positive sense of the realization of his individual self; that is, the
expression of his intellectual, emotional and sensuous potentialities. Freedom, though it has brought him
independence and rationality, has made him isolated and, thereby, anxious and
powerless. This isolation is unbearable
and the alternatives he is confronted with are either to escape from the burden
of his freedom into new dependencies and submission, or to advance to the full
realization of positive freedom which is based upon the uniqueness and
individuality of man.” – Erich Fromm, Foreword, Page 8
“Modern European and American history is centered around the
effort to gain freedom from the political, economic, and spiritual shackles
that have bound men. The battles for
freedom were fought by the oppressed, those who wanted new liberties, against
those who had privileges to defend.
While a class was fighting for its own liberation from domination, it
believed itself to be fighting for human freedom as such and thus was able to
appeal to an ideal, to the longing for freedom rooted in all who are oppressed. In the long and virtually continuous battle
for freedom, however, classes that were fighting against oppression at one
stage sided with the enemies of freedom when victory was won and new privileges
were to be defended.” – Erich Fromm, Chapter I: Freedom – A Psychological
problem, Page 15
“The victory of freedom is possible only if democracy
develops into a society in which the individuals, his growth and happiness, is
the aim and purpose of culture, in which life does not need any justification
in success or anything else, and in which the individual is not manipulated by
any power outside of himself, be it the State or the economic machine; finally,
a society in which his conscience and ideals are not the internalization of
external demands, but are really his and express the aims that result from the
peculiarity of his self.” – Erich Fromm, Part VI: Chapter 2: Freedom and
Spontaneity, Page 183
Is This An Overview?
People have been fighting a continuous struggle against
oppression. The freedoms won, gave rise
to individualistic society, but victory came at a cost. Collective societies limited the individual,
but provided the individual with security.
Gaining independence, did not provide the freedom to express oneself. Individualistic societies provide
independence, but at the cost of isolation, anxiety, and powerlessness. The individual has the option to seek to
improve the benefits of freedom, or escape from freedom with dependency and
submission.
To gain the psychological and economic benefits from groups,
the individual becomes oppressed.
Suppressing critical thinking, as critical thinking becomes a threat to
the individual’s wellbeing. Upon gaining
freedoms, people switch sides to the oppressors, to better defend the rights they
believe worthy. For a democracy that
values the individual to be sustainable, the society needs to enable the
capabilities of the individual without subordination.
Caveats?
The book can be difficult to read. The claims are explained through various
examples. Examples that are short, and
tend to provide axiomatic evidence. Alternative
interpretations are not explored. The
examples are based on European and American experiences.
