Erich Fromm: A Discussion of Psychoanalysis and Socialism

Abstract

    Abstract. Eric Fromm(1900-1980) was one of the influential persons of 20th century philosophy and psychology with his extraordinary and innovative ideas. The ideas of Fromm include many fields, psychology, as well as philosophy and sociology. The mentioned study aims to introduce Fromm’s ideas to a reader in regard with how capitalism converts a human being into a puppet, alienated and far from freedom. The study also focuses on a bold statement of the author regarding socialism and psychoanalytical synthesis, though Fromm in these two contradicting theories finds similar connecting issues, and then he develops and presents them as a human psychoanalysis, as a new system. In modern society, a human being is in the same condition as Fromm discussed, his ideas are up-to-date and real. Since most people, similarly, nowadays are alienated from their jobs, a person as a creator is lost and instead, he has no choice but to sell himself and to become more demanded by the market. At the same time, it is obvious that in today's reality, the main goals of life have become economic activity, success and material gain. It has become the fate for a person to contribute to economic growth and gather capital not for his own happiness or survival, but it has become his main point of life. In this big “Economic Machine”, a person is valuable if he has many assets, in other cases he is insignificant. Accordingly, in this system individuality is lost, with its uniqueness and values. In against of this kind of universe, people have to imagine that “the other universe is possible” and with this imagination to start applying the changes, not to let the industrial, consumers’ universe to take our only chance to be free, authentic and in fact ourselves.