"Escape from Freedom" by Erich Fromm

[Shepherd]

Escape From Freedom, Erich Fromm, Henry Holt & Co., l941, Foreward II, l965.

Excerpted by Shepherd Bliss, [email protected]

“It is the thesis of this book that modern man, freed from the bonds of pre-individualistic society, which simultaneously gave him 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; 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 dependences and submission, or to advance to the full realization of positive freedom which is based upon the uniqueness and individuality of man.” p. x

“Almost 25 years have passed since the first edition of this book was published…modern man still is anxious and tempted to surrender his freedom to dictators of all kinds, or to lose it by transforming himself into a small cog in the machine, well fed, and well clothed, yet not a free man but an automaton…The giant forces in society and the danger for man’s survival have increased in these 25 years, and hence man’s tendency to escape from freedom.” p. xiii

“Modern European and American history is centered around the effort to gain freedom from the political, economics, and spiritual shackles that have bound men. The battles fro 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.” p. 1

“Man does not suffer so much from poverty today as he suffers from the fact that he has become a cog in a large machine, an automaton, that his life has become empty and lost its meaning.” p. 274

[glenclem]

Shepherd,
Thanks for the quote. It sent me to the book shelf to make sure I still had a copy of Fromm's book (I did). I also, just this week, went back to Fromm's "The Art of Love" for some inspiration in helping a friend deal with a recent and difficult separation. Still in print and still relevant.
thanx,
Glen

Escape From Freedom, Erich Fromm, Henry Holt & Co., l941, Foreward II, l965.

Excerpted by Shepherd Bliss, [email protected]

“It is the thesis of this book that modern man, freed from the bonds of pre-individualistic society, which simultaneously gave him 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; 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 dependences and submission, or to advance to the full realization of positive freedom which is based upon the uniqueness and individuality of man.” p. x

“Almost 25 years have passed since the first edition of this book was published…modern man still is anxious and tempted to surrender his freedom to dictators of all kinds, or to lose it by transforming himself into a small cog in the machine, well fed, and well clothed, yet not a free man but an automaton…The giant forces in society and the danger for man’s survival have increased in these 25 years, and hence man’s tendency to escape from freedom.” p. xiii

“Modern European and American history is centered around the effort to gain freedom from the political, economics, and spiritual shackles that have bound men. The battles fro 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.” p. 1

“Man does not suffer so much from poverty today as he suffers from the fact that he has become a cog in a large machine, an automaton, that his life has become empty and lost its meaning.” p. 274