The Revolution of Hope, Toward a Humanized Technology. [Paperback]

Erich, Fromm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1968

First published in 1968, the year of international-student confrontation and revolution, this classic challenges readers to choose which of two roads humankind ought to take: the one, leading to a completely mechanized society with the individual a helpless cog in a machine bent on mass destruction; or the second, being the path of humanism and hope.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Erich Fromm (March 23, 1900 - March 18, 1980) was a German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was associated with what became known as the Frankfurt School of critical theory. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 178 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (paper) (January 1968)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060901926
• ISBN-13: 978-0060901929
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,925,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'The function of Reason is to promote the art of Life', April 26, 2000

By 

Emil Moller (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Revolution of Hope, Toward a Humanized Technology. (Paperback)

Seldom I've read an author who goes so outspokenly, clearly and concisely to the basic assumptions of contemporary Western society. And offers a hopeful alternative. His views from the '60s are 1:1 applicable now, including those on computers. 'Hope' is for him an inner readiness / not yet spent activeness. It contrasts with 'busyness': the latter seems full of life, but is little more than efforts to fill 'quiet lives of desperation' by cheap thrills. Hope is linked to a basic faith in 'Life': there are no guarantees, but in the act of faith, Life leads you to a more aware, more compassionate, more sustainable life. This is (my) basic Humanism, with sympathetic overtones towards Illich, Marx and Buddhism.

His 'The art of loving', Illich's books, Ken Wilber's books and Fowler's 'Stages of Faith' are for me in the same league. Joseph Campbell, Peter Drucker, Alan Watts and Manuel Castells are some other favorites in a somewhat wider perspective.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a masterpiece of observation - what a book!, February 10, 2003

By 

mike perry (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Revolution of Hope, Toward a Humanized Technology. (Paperback)

I bought this book some 15 years ago from a used book store on the upper westside of NYC with the cover ripped off. Of all the books that have come and gone in my life, fromms book was the only book that I always kept with my special belongings. Over the years I have gotten 3/4s of the way through the book. Today since I am finally established I bought a new copy (with a cover this time)
Fromms analysis of depression in americans is beautiful stating that because we have so many choices in life (what to study in college, choice of career, spouse etc) as well as so many opportunities we a given everyday,we feel overwhelmed to not make any wrong choices thus causing dep and grief. (obviously he goes on for pages about this but this simple observation, has made an impression on me for years!
Also he was dead on about how human nature was thrown to the waste side in the last 100 years, while technology took over and seduced this country. He said that we as people are turning from "human beings" into "human doings". I still bring that up in conversations even today. It's a book that you dont read over the weekend , you really have to take time to absorb and think about what he wrote. "Heavy" reading but written in a way that it takes you by the hand chapter through chapter. Fromm is outstanding - what a beautiful piece of work.

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, especially for college library collections, January 16, 2011

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Revolution of Hope: Toward a Humanized Technology (Paperback)

Four posthumously published titles by psychologist and social theorist Erich Fromm (1900-1980) offer Fromm's psychology grounded in humanism. "Beyond Freud" is now published for the first time; it's subdivided into "Man's Impulse Structure and Its Relation to Culture" plus three lectures: "Psychic Needs and Society", "Dealing with the Unconsciousness", and "The Relevance of Psychoanalysis for the Future". The scientific underpinnings of "Beyond Freud" thoughtfully explore the social unconsciousness of the individual, as well as the unconscious driving forces of social entities. "The Pathology of Normalcy" is also published for the first time; it examines the very definitions of mental health and mental sickness in modern-day society. Sections consisting of lectures about frame of reference when evaluating mental health, the intersection of alienation and mental health issues, and even the interplay between psychological and economic theory, as he deconstructs the weaknesses of Marxist Socialism and explains why it has been largely rejected in modern America. Of particular interest is the self-evident section "Is Man Lazy by Nature?" which strives to understand how humankind can best overcome its own tendencies toward inertia. "The Heart of Man" questions human nature itself, from the forms of violence that plague it to individual and social narcissism to how the positive value of "love of life" can potentially outweigh the destructive "syndrome of decay" caused by the love of death and other harmful tendencies of thought. "The Revolution of Hope" lives up to its title with an uplifting exploration of the definition of hope, what it truly means to be human, and steps that should be taken to promote humanization in an increasingly disconnected and technology-driven society. All four volumes are timely, directly relevant to modern psychological and social issues, and bring absolutely invaluable humanist messages to temper psychology's scientific and healing discipline. Highly recommended, especially for college library collections.