Escape from Freedom - by Erich Fromm (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published: New York: Farrar & Reinhart, 1941.

Book Synopsis

The classic study of the psychological appeal of fascism by one of our most eminent social psychologists.

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.

Review Quotes

"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

"Magnificent in implications, a new trend in the study of man makes its first appearance in these pages."
--Saturday Review of Literature

About the Author

Erich Fromm (1900-1980) was a German-born U.S. psychoanalyst and social philosopher who explored the interaction between psychology and society. He cofounded the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis, and Psychology. A professor for much of his career, he taught at Bennington College, New York University, Michigan State University, and UNAM in Mexico City. Fromm's works include The Art of Loving, Love, Sexuality, and Matriarchy, and Man for Himself.