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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escape from Freedom | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_from_Freedom | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T08:53:34.221271+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Freedom in the 20th century === Fromm analyzes the character of Nazi ideology and suggests that the psychological conditions of Germany after the first world war fed into a desire for some form of new order to restore the nation's pride. This came in the form of Nazism and Fromm's interpretation of Mein Kampf suggests that Hitler had an authoritarian personality structure that not only made him want to rule over Germany in the name of a higher authority (the idea of a natural master race) but also made him an appealing prospect for an insecure middle class that needed some sense of pride and certainty. Fromm suggests there is a propensity to submit to authoritarian regimes when nations experience negative freedom but he sounds a positive note when he claims that the work of cultural evolution hitherto cannot be undone and Nazism does not provide a genuine union with the world. Fromm examines democracy and freedom. Modern democracy and the industrialised nation are models he praises but it is stressed that the kind of external freedom provided by this kind of society can never be utilised to the full without an equivalent inner freedom. Fromm suggests that though we are free from the totalitarian influence of any sort in this kind of society, we are still dominated by the advice of experts and the influence of advertising. The way to become free as an individual is to be spontaneous in our self-expression and in the way we behave. This is crystallised in his existential statement "There is only one meaning of life: the act of living it". Fromm counters suggestions that this might lead to social chaos by claiming that being truly in touch with our humanity is to be truly in touch with the needs of those with whom we share the world.
== See also == Two Concepts of Liberty Critical theory Freudo-Marxism Life Against Death The Paradox of Choice Psychohistory
== References ==