The Sane Society [Paperback]

Erich Fromm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1990

The Sane Society is a continuation and extension of the brilliant psychiatric concepts Erich Fromm first formulated in Escape from Freedom; it is also, in many ways, an answer to Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents. Fromm examines man’s escape into overconformity and the danger of robotism in contemporary industrial society: modern humanity has, he maintains, been alienated from the world of their own creation. Here Fromm offers a complete and systematic exploration of his “humanistic psychoanalysis.” In so doing, he counters the profound pessimism for our future that Freud expressed and sets forth the goals of a society in which the emphasis is on each person and on the social measures designed to further function as a responsible individual.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A distinguished contribution to a growing body of social psychological reflections on modern times. "-The Washington Post

“One is fascinated page after page by the incisiveness of the analysis, the concreteness of the presentation, and the beauty of the style.”—Paul Tillich

“A courageous book with a high moral objective...an unflinching indictment of contemporary society.”—Guide to Psychiatric and Psychological Literature

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, Love, Sexuality, and Matriarchy, and Man for Himself. He died in 1980.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (October 15, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805014020
• ISBN-13: 978-0805014020
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #443,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An indictment of our society, October 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sane Society (Paperback)

I have never found any author who has a firmer grasp on the human condition than Erich Fromm. Chapter 3 of The Sane Society is a masterpiece in describing what it means to be human and why we are foolish to expect never to be anxious and always to be happy and smiling. This book is an excellent analysis of the situation of modern man and frightening in that the characteristics Fromm cites have become even more ingrained in us. His thesis is that we are inherently anxious due to our consciousness. Unlike animals who have instincts to script their lives from start to finish, we are free to determine ourselves and this freedom without anyone/anything to tell us what choice to make is frightening. We are capable of joy and our culture is capable of being called a good one to the extent that our lives are a reflection of our individual abilities being given expression in our work, our play, our social life and our government. We are happy to the extent that we realize ourselves, or as Fromm puts it, that we give birth to ourselves over our lifetimes. In order for this to occur our society must value the human over the inanimate (property) and that is the downfall of Capitalism. We are in service to the system of production and have become alientated from ourselves and others. We fashion ourselves to be appealing products on the personality market, becoming no more than objects for sale to others. "I am as you want me to be" is our personal creed and our work, our social life, our family life all are disconnected and increasingly unrelated to us in other than materialistic ways. Fromm's prescription is "communitarian socialism" which is a society in which all aspects of life are interelated and dedicated to the advancement of human life rather than material production. He sees the problem and a solution but since this book was written (1955) we have accelerated in the direction he feared. If you doubt that what he says is true, try being out of a job and looking for work. You will find how little what you are is valued and how much the art of selling (no matter what is being sold) or narrow technical knowledge is valued. Things are more securely in the saddle than ever before and we are slaves to a system which promotes more of every"thing" and little of what is human. One example from real life of what Fromm is saying in his book... there was a manager where I once worked whom we called "roboman" because he had no ability to relate to people but was obsessed with work, always busy on 5 projects at once and very competent technically in everything he did, though universally reviled for his disregard of people. He got promoted and now heads the company office in another city. God help his employees. People who manipulate things advance and are highly rewarded as Bill Gates can tell you. People who care for people are passed over. Efficiency is King and humanity has been left in the dust. Remember the ancient Greeks saying that the purpose of society is to further the happiness of it's members? The purpose of our society is to make more things. You and I are out there at the stores frantically buying and that assures that this will continue. Fromm makes the excellent point that those who are successful in society are considered sane, no matter how pathological they might be when viewed from the perspective of what it means to be an integrated, productive human being. As we ever more frantically race to make life ever more frantic, we are forgetting what sanity is in our materialistic frenzy. You can drive from coast to coast across this country of 300 million people and not have contact with another human being except when they pass you a burger at the drive-through. Very efficient but is this isolation that technology promotes good for people? We could all do with a careful reading of Fromm's book.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brillian and creative analysis with possible solutions., November 10, 2003

By 

Frank Bierbrauer (Cardiff, Wales, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sane Society (Paperback)

I had heard of Erich Fromm for some time but had not read any of his work and then decided I should have a look and see what all the fuss was about. To say the least Fromm does an excellent job of attempting a critique of modern society whether it be western capitalism or eastern communism. He considers the question: is current society sane ? He concludes no and pushes aside the claims of most psychologists that a sane member of society is one who can adjust himself/herself to it. Naturally such a claim means that society itself must be sane. Fromm instead supposes that there are other more objective measures of sanity than the society one is a part of. Such measures were considered by Freud early in the 20th century and led to his idea of the libido which unless satisfied produces insanity and neuroses. Fromm himself studied under Freud in psychoanalysis but came to the conclusion that Freud's ideas, although basically correct in their aims, incorrectly based all of man's behaviour on the libido.

Instead Fromm analyses current society, circa 1950's, on the basis of human nature which arises from the human condition, his whole existence. Fromm finds that man has, over the centuries, removed himself from nature (the metaphor of the expulsion from the Garden of Eden) which formed for him the womb and the spiritual connection needed by him. Instead man developed his own world which was formed through the creation of villages and towns and agriculture and some independence from nature as the provider and sustainer. The eventual extreme aspects of this alienation are found in both communism and capitalism as seen today where the individual no longer feels a relatedness to others in the society, an alienation which itself can lead to insanity. The fact that people are capital and not "people" anymore and that their work becomes capital as well which can be interchanged with other forms of capital which have no human base produces ill health and a mentally ill society. This also applies to communism except with the addition of enforced governmental structures. Fromm notes how sanity can only be achieved through changes in all aspects of the human condition at once rather than piecemeal attempts. That is his economical, political, spiritual and social needs must be satisfied at the same time. He contrasts earlier centuries to the modern one and how a capitalistic view imposes uniformity even under the illusion of individuality.

From attempts some way out of this crisis through what he calls "communitarian socialism" which applies directly and concretely to an individual's present circumstances. Fromm is widely read and never forgets to note the important authors who led the way before him. Similarly he is knowledgable in surveys and studies over the years concerning attempts at an improvement of the human condition applied in industry by others. It is the satisfaction of human needs in the present circumstances which lie on the road to a better society not who controls the means of production.

Unfortunately after a detailed and brilliant analysis of society Fromm does not spend anywhere near the same amount of time in the resolution of its problems. In the second last chapter, about 70 pages of a total of 360, he attempts it. One feels that he never quite finished this chapter and that he had much more to say, or rather there was much he mentioned briefly but did not analyse deeply enough. He did not discuss the problems which could arise in these solutions as they are implemented. This is disappointing.

Nonetheless, simply for a deep and insightful analysis of society and human nature Fromm cannot be faulted. The book is a must read for these reasons alone. It is unfortunate his ideas were never put into practice. Society continues in its march towards insanity as the capitalist ideal is approached and people are more and more dehumanised. No wonder such massive problems exist.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars illuminating and insightful, April 17, 2000

By 

George Shaw - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sane Society (Paperback)

Erich Fromm�fs �gThe Sane Society�h is one the most illuminating and insightful books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. In �gThe Sane Society�h Fromm questions the sanity of a society which covets property over humanity and adheres to idolatrous theologies of submission and domination rather than self-actualization. Fromm provides readers with a scathing indictment of modern capitalism which, Fromm states, is the main source of the isolation and alienation prevalent in today�fs society. Fromm advocates communitarian socialism, which, he explains, expounds the humanitarian ideals and spiritual self-actualization needed to cure society of its religious and capitalistic ills.