If humanity cannot live with the dangers and responsibilities inherent in freedom, it will probably turn to authoritarianism. This is the central idea of Escape from Freedom, a landmark work by one of the most distinguished thinkers of our time, and a book that is as timely now as when first published in 1941. Few books have thrown such light upon the forces that shape modern society or penetrated so deeply into the causes of authoritarian systems. If the rise of democracy set some people free, at the same time it gave birth to a society in which the individual feels alienated and dehumanized. Using the insights of psychoanalysis as probing agents, Fromm’s work analyzes the illness of contemporary civilization as witnessed by its willingness to submit to totalitarian rule.
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Editorial Reviews
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An analysis par excellence of our cultural neurosis. -The Nation
"An important and challenging work. "-The New York Herald Tribune
"Fromm's thought merits the critical attention of all concerned with the human condition and its future. "-The Washington Post
"An important and challenging work. "-The New York Herald Tribune
"Fromm's thought merits the critical attention of all concerned with the human condition and its future. "-The Washington Post
About the Author
Erich Fromm was a German-born U.S. psychoanalyst and social philosopher who explored the interaction between psychology and society. His works include The Art of Loving, Psychoanalysis and Religion, and Man for Himself. He died in 1980.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
74 of 81 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I believe the essence of "Escape from Freedom" can be found first in the chapter, "Mechanisms of Escape":
"The person who gives up his individual self and becomes an automaton, identical with millions of other automatons around him, need not feel alone and anxious any more. But the price he pays, however, is high; it is the loss of his self."
And second, under the chapter, "Freedom and Democracy":
"This loss of identity then makes it still more imperative to conform, it means that one can be sure of oneself only if one lives up to the expectations of others. If we do not live up to this picture, we not only risk disapproval and increased isolation, but we risk losing the identity of our personality, which means jeopardizing sanity."
"... We must replace manipulation of men by active and intelligent co-operation, and expand the principle of government of the people, by the people, for the people, from the formal political to the economic sphere."
39 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book offers insight into many everyday issues: thinking, feeling, wanting, character, individualism, politics, most of all freedom - the list goes on. You will learn what it means to have a false self including: pseudo-thinking, pseudo-feeling, pseudo-willing, etc. For example, when you have a "thought" how do you know it is yours? When you want something, how do you know it is you who "wants" it?
This book also explains the rise of Nazism from a psychological and historical perspective, making it actually seem understandable.
Fromm starts the book by talking about our experience as children from the womb to breaking away and moving into the world. The problem he describes is that people on the whole do not want to be free and want to cling to ideas that make them feel as if they were back in the womb.
This book talks much about socialization and in my opinion parallels "The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge" by Peter L. Berger, Thomas Luckmann, which I believe to be one the best books ever written.
37 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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An amazing book that pieces modern society starting from the medieval to the renaissance and reformation, that is, from a well defined structured and fixed group identity, fixed meaning to life, determined purpose to life and the here after, to that of the existential, capitalistic and monopolist society that has produced radical individualism with the type of freedom producing severe loneliness, separation and the need to alleviate such emptiness, which has been fulfilled by illusionary means.
Fromm relates a major piece of Western civilization's struggle in the ability to see the correlation between the medieval, secure, self-employed society to that of the Renaissance, an elite aristocracy employing the masses as dependent employees, commodities under a new capitalistic society. It was here only the limited rich could prosper in creativity, while the masses existed in a new existential despair. And so Luther, and later Calvin, devised new forms of Christianity, existential types, to aid these new psychological needs of the masses in accepting this change from security to exploitation.
Fromm goes both into the psyche of man, the nature of societal structure, the development of western civilization and need for security and certainty to that of either authoritarian rule, internal conscious rule or the invisible rule of democratic conformity to public opinion, or automation.
Basic Masochistic/Sadistic desires of man from the extreme, to what is considered "normal" has been seen in the forfeit of the individual self into totalitarian control, capitalistic profit and religious and social concepts that attempt to fill the void of separateness without keeping the self.
Fromm ends his book in what the positive traits of what Faust would be: that of spontaneous living, not compulsive living, but in positive affirmation and movement, in the process of life, not the results, the experience of the activity of the present moment. I couldn't agree more.
An amazing book that pieces modern society starting from the medieval to the renaissance and reformation, that is, from a well defined structured and fixed group identity, fixed meaning to life, determined purpose to life and the here after, to that of the existential, capitalistic and monopolist society that has produced radical individualism with the type of freedom producing severe loneliness, separation and the need to alleviate such emptiness, which has been fulfilled by illusionary means.
Fromm relates a major piece of Western civilization's struggle in the ability to see the correlation between the medieval, secure, self-employed society to that of the Renaissance, an elite aristocracy employing the masses as dependent employees, commodities under a new capitalistic society. It was here only the limited rich could prosper in creativity, while the masses existed in a new existential despair. And so Luther, and later Calvin, devised new forms of Christianity, existential types, to aid these new psychological needs of the masses in accepting this change from security to exploitation.
Fromm goes both into the psyche of man, the nature of societal structure, the development of western civilization and need for security and certainty to that of either authoritarian rule, internal conscious rule or the invisible rule of democratic conformity to public opinion, or automation.
Basic Masochistic/Sadistic desires of man from the extreme, to what is considered "normal" has been seen in the forfeit of the individual self into totalitarian control, capitalistic profit and religious and social concepts that attempt to fill the void of separateness without keeping the self.
Fromm ends his book in what the positive traits of what Faust would be: that of spontaneous living, not compulsive living, but in positive affirmation and movement, in the process of life, not the results, the experience of the activity of the present moment. I couldn't agree more.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Warning
Beware of this book, it will make you think!
I love Erich Fromm's psychoanalysis. I always recommend him to people because he is positive and optimist without being... Read more
I love Erich Fromm's psychoanalysis. I always recommend him to people because he is positive and optimist without being... Read more
Published 2 days ago by Mateo
If you're not escaping from freedom, click here
ESCAPE FROM FREEDOM merited a re-read recently. I'm down on bathroom reading -- particularly books that haven't become victims of my intellectual shredding. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Jennifer Armstrong
Positive
This book was in very very good shape. it looks like it was barely touched. it was shipped on time as well.
Published 3 months ago by Abigail Samantha Paris
It was a very informative book
I found that reading Erich Fromms book "Escape From Freedom" to be one of the most informative books with quite a bit of insight that I have read in quite a while. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Jimmie R. Johnson
Excellent insight into human nature and politics
Fromm has a great grasp on backtracking through political and economic history and exploring man's psychological makeup to find out why and how capitalism and fascism came about,... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Cammy P
recomended but tread carefully with your mind.
Fromm is a brilliant man but his view on religion and God is based on a very wrong perspective not even closely related to the factual material of the christian Bible. Read more
Published 10 months ago by dan
great!
I'm only a few pages into the book and I love it. If you've ever wondered about the origination of evil, this book gives great insight into human behavior. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Sabina
GROSSLY OUTDATED
I first read this book 40+ years ago as an undergraduate Sociology major. At that time I was tremendously impressed at the breadth & extent of Dr. Read more
Published 23 months ago by DAVID GROESBECK
a wake-up call to examine character structure of modern man
This is an important book that examines the character structure of modern man that is faced with the dilemma, "How can mankind save itself from destroying itself by this... Read more
Published on January 27, 2010 by whj
Brilliant
Just a very short review: One of the best books I've ever read. Well written, insightful and full of wisdom. I've also read To Have or To Be which was also very good. Read more
Published on December 18, 2009 by Winston Smith
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Modern European and American history is centered around the effort to gain freedom from the political, economic, and spiritual shackles that have bound men. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
masochistic strivings, whole character structure, magic helper, growing individuation, individual insignificance, masochistic perversion, new religious doctrines, masochistic trends, rising capitalism, sadistic person, authoritarian character, primary ties, monopolistic capitalism, independent businessman, pseudo self Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Middle Ages, New York, Catholic Church, Mein Kampf, Jacob Burckhardt, National Socialism New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Modern European and American history is centered around the effort to gain freedom from the political, economic, and spiritual shackles that have bound men. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
masochistic strivings, whole character structure, magic helper, growing individuation, individual insignificance, masochistic perversion, new religious doctrines, masochistic trends, rising capitalism, sadistic person, authoritarian character, primary ties, monopolistic capitalism, independent businessman, pseudo self Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Middle Ages, New York, Catholic Church, Mein Kampf, Jacob Burckhardt, National Socialism New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 18
books:
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100
books
cite this book:
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- Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler on 6 pages
- Social Reform and the Reformation (Columbia University studies in the social sciences) by Jacob Salwyn Schapiro in Front Matter, and page 51
- The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (Penguin Classics) by Jacob Burckhardt in Front Matter, and page 43
- A High Wind in Jamaica (New York Review Books Classics) by Richard Hughes on page 26
- The Dogma of Christ (Owl Book) by Erich Fromm in Back Matter
See all 18 books this book cites
- Erich Fromm and the Quest for Solidarity by Lawrence Wilde on 45 pages
- Introduction to Critical Theory by David Held on 7 pages
- Haven in a Heartless World by Christopher Lasch on 5 pages
- Freedom, Power and Democratic Planning: Karl Mannheim: Collected English Writings Volume 4 (Routledge Classics in Sociology) by Karl Mannheim on 5 pages
- Izetbegovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Notes from Prison, 1983-1988 by Alija Izetbegovi'c on 4 pages
See all 100 books citing this book
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