Erich Fromm’s theory of the human condition begins with the insight that freedom itself can sometimes be the cause of fear and anxiety, forcing us to find ways to “escape from freedom”. Authoritarianism, destructiveness and automaton conformity are, according to Fromm, three ways how we try to cope with the freedom we fear.
This article is part of The Ultimate Guide to the Philosophy of Erich Fromm.
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The problem of freedom
It is surprising to see freedom identified as a problem, isn’t it? And why would we want to “escape from freedom”?
We usually think that freedom must be something unequivocally good. All over the world people are fighting for their freedom. Being imprisoned, losing one’s freedom, is a heavy punishment that we reserve only for the worst offenders in our society. Slavery seems almost unimaginably cruel to us, not only because slaves in the past have been mistreated, but primarily because they weren’t free. (By the way, slaves were not always mistreated. In ancient Greece and Rome, there were all kinds of slavery, and some of them looked much better than some modern employment contracts). And finally Kant identified human autonomy (which essentially means human freedom) as the basic, defining feature of what makes us special and distinguishes us from animals. So how can this precious thing, our freedom, be a problem?
People weren’t always as free as we are today. In the Middle Ages, one didn’t have much choice about how to live one’s life. You were born into a gender role, a social caste, even a job. The son of a miller became a miller, whether he wanted to or not (this is where our surnames come from). This all began to change during the Renaissance (~15 and 16th centuries), when the big cities offered more social mobility and more choices and material wealth to their citizens. Suddenly, people were free to redefine themselves, to start a trade, to make money, and to use this money in order to advance in society. The old structures of inherited status began to crumble away and slowly the citizens got used to enjoying freedoms that they never had before. This process went on through the centuries, always progressing towards more equality, more rights, more choice, more freedom, up to the present day.
In the industrialised West, we now enjoy more freedom and more material wealth than ever before. But are we therefore happier?
This is the question that Fromm uses as his starting point. Think about it for a moment. If suddenly a genie came out of an Arabian lamp and granted you total freedom from all restrictions that society imposes upon you, how would this feel? Would this only be a source of happiness?
No, says Fromm. Freedom comes with another, often overlooked side. Being free also means having to take responsibility. It also means being more isolated and alienated from others. …
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