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ESCAPE from FREEDOM 1 Book Review Running head: BOOK REVIEW: ESCAPE FROM FREEDOM 1 Book Review: Escape from Freedom by Erich Fromm Zhong, Yixin PSYC7306 – The Psychology of Personality Instructor: Prof. G.H. Blowers The University of Hong Kong BOOK REVIEW: ESCAPE FROM FREEDOM BY ERICH FROMM 2 Book Review: Escape from Freedom by Erich Fromm Escape from Freedom was written in 1941 by renowned German psychologist and philosopher Erich Fromm. The book reveals the prevailing inherent deficiency in human personality: the persistent sense of anxiety and insecurity. This underlying affective mode dominates the majority of human beings and turn itself into an incessant drive that pushes human beings to search for exterior shelter or protection that can bring a sense of release and comport, the connection of which is called by Fromm – the bondage. Even today, seventy-five years after the first publishing, Escape from Freedom still retain a unique perception to look at varied disturbing issues and phenomena in different domains of human society. It seems that the need for practical solutions to resolve these problems on the social and individual levels become even more pressing today compared with the era when this book was written. Main Arguments For Fromm, the maturing process through which a person become consciously and positively connected with the world by attaining an integral sense of self is individuation. It is human beings’ essential psychological need to be independent of the people and/or the unity he previously closely bonded with and obtained support from, such as one’s parents and family. Whereas, when one’s growth of emotional competence cannot commensurate with the formation of individuation, an imbalanced psychological state would come into formation. The manifestations of such state can be a sense of isolation, helplessness, insecurity, and anxiety. Eventually, people would look for ways to avoid such uncomfortable feelings. From a social perspective, modern economic system built up upon the deep sense of fear and insecurity in turn, BOOK REVIEW: ESCAPE FROM FREEDOM BY ERICH FROMM 3 further strengthen the existence of such psychological state. The formation of this negative loop shapes the human characters in the modern society. Fromm elaborated three types of mechanisms of escape the majority of human beings would adopt: Authoritarianism, Destructiveness, and Automaton Conformity. However, none of these means can help people restore a stable and balanced inner state in a healthy way. The internal need for the sense of belonging and security could be persistent and highly irrational, which explains why people seek for connections to the external to balance out the discomfort and uneasiness on the inside. The analysis of this book revealed that on the fundamental level, the type of “relatedness” of the individual to the external world directly reflects the irrational and unstable elements in the personality (Fromm, 1994, p 10.). People are chasing fortune, fame, and other personal gains through hard work in an obsessed manner in hope that their inner psychological void can be filled up one day. However, achievements can only bring a fleeting sense of satisfaction and security. The mode of existence remains unchanged. The yearnings for external processions are always present and the internal needs seem never to be satisfied. The inner drive that sustains the process of work and the relationship with others are always purpose and result oriented. Fromm also took a historical viewpoint to illustrate the psychological longings for freedom of people at his times. He described people’s political, economic, and religious struggles between societal control and individual freedom of the middle ages in Europe. Besides, due to his special concerns of the prevailing force of German Fascism, Fromm described in details of the underlying factors that make German people submit to the power of Nazism as a result of the inner struggle of their desire for freedom and the longings for forming a new union with an external powerful entity so as to alleviate their concurrent sense of isolation. BOOK REVIEW: ESCAPE FROM FREEDOM BY ERICH FROMM 4 For Fromm, when a person manages to achieve an integral sense of self, he/she will be capable of demonstrating the greatest strength, including one’s creativity and critical thinking ability. The integrity of a person is the premise to attain positive freedom. A person who has achieved authentic freedom always is capable of living spontaneously and reaching one’s full potentiality in an independent yet integral way. Fromm offered two paths to the development an integral personality: through love and work. Here, love does not mean to love others at the cost of losing one’s own self, the type of which contains a compulsory element. On the contrary, it refers to the attainment of oneness between self and others upon an integral sense of self through spontaneous expressions. In other words, to love the self and through which to channel unconditional love to others. Fromm also adopt a new definition for “work”, which is contradictory to the conventional meaning – result driven or achievement oriented efforts. Fromm proposed that in the way to integral personality, a person shall always fully engage oneself in the process of creative activity at present, rather than placing one’s thoughts on the past or the future, so as to elicit a sense of genuineness, happiness, and contentment. Fromm’s Theory and Society Today In my view, Theories and analysis Fromm introduced in Escape from Freedom still can provide profound implication for understanding society today, be it eastern or western. Compared with the era when this book was written, unfortunately people today are even more obsessed in chasing external possessions in an even more perverted manner. Fortune, fame, success. Efforts are always achievement-oriented rather than process-focused. What it matters is what can be obtained, but not how much the strength of self can grow. Such frantic behavioural patterns directly reflect the psychological state of modern people: fear, deep sense of insecurity, BOOK REVIEW: ESCAPE FROM FREEDOM BY ERICH FROMM 5 and higher level of anxiety. Important personality traits, such as patience, self-assurance, endurance, optimism, and scepticism that can cultivate an independent person with a positive attitude are rare, which further escalate the economic uncertainty and political irrationality within a society. Just as Fromm (1994) claimed: “The kind of effort and activity is not the result of inner strength a self-confidence; it is a desperate escape from anxiety” (p. 91). In contrast to this ever more materialized world, people’s life satisfaction is keeping deteriorating. They become more anxious. Take the contemporary western adolescents and young adults for example. Many research studies have shown that increasing number of young people are suffering from depression nowadays compared with decades ago (Wardle et al., 2004). The society has to put a lot of forces in dealing with young people’s behaviour problems as a result of this psychological disorder: suicide, drug addiction, and violence. In California, twelve percent of Palo Alto high- school students surveyed in the 2013–14 school year reported having seriously contemplated suicide in the past 12 months (Rosin, 2015). School-aged children always put their faith in the people they trust most: parents and teachers. In this accomplishment-driven age, very often the message they received and affirmed unanimously from both their parents and teachers is: the meaning of life is largely depending on whether or not one can become a successful person through hard work. Such belief is even more prevailing among kids who study in private schools. Throughout their growing path during the school years, these privileged kids from rich families are asked to participate all kinds of school and after-school activities in hope of they can become an all-round person after grown up. Such pseudo freedom disguise itself as a positive path to the utmost significance of life. Students who have a deep sense of insecurity while at the same time possess superb intellectual ability are most BOOK REVIEW: ESCAPE FROM FREEDOM BY ERICH FROMM 6 likely become the victims of such social belief system. The high school boy in the report who put himself in front of a train was considered by his friends as “popular and athletic and seemingly unbothered by school work” (Rosin, 2015). It is much easier for them to attain desired outcomes with only adequate amount of efforts throughout their school age. They have been accustomed to positive affirmations which makes them further believe what their parents and teachers preach. Therefore, whenever they are dealing with issues in their lives, they will only choose to focus on how to fulfil external expectations and requirements so that they can obtain more affirmations and positive feedbacks. Fundamentally, the meaning of life is actually decided by others, not their own will or preference. The long-term neglect of one’s true orientations interferes with the development of an integral sense of self. Young people growing up in such conditions seem especially not capable of distinguishing the difference between their genuine needs and feelings as an independent individual in relation to this world and life tasks the others are trying to impose on them. They are simply not capable of attending to their own needs and wants. Meanwhile, the deep sense of insecurity keep directing their full attention to external factors in a compulsive way, which seemingly can fix all their inner problems on the superficial level. The pitfall of this approach is quite dangerous to human existence. First, these young people could feel that no matter how much effort they use to chasing goals and objectives, the subsequent good feelings are always fleeting. They cannot achieve a constant sense of relief. As a consequence, they become even more anxious and easily get agitated.
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