Escape from Freedom Written by Erich Fromm Free Essay Example, 750 words

Men, in the struggle for freedom, fight against each other for the necessities of life which are already not very sufficient; and, this raises the need and lust for power and authority (p. 6). With power, man snatches away his necessities, and even luxuries, of life, and gives meaning to his attainment of freedom. However, the alienation and isolation that comes with freedom make a man want to escape it. Fromm has concluded from his psychoanalytic methods that man uses his way of dependence on others to escape freedom. On one hand, a man tries to depend on others, while on the other he also wants domination. There are certain factors in man s nature which are foxed and unchangeable: the necessity to satisfy the physiologically conditioned drives and the necessity to avoid isolation and moral aloneness (p. 20). Adolf Hitler and the Nazis of Germany have misused this concept by convincing their followers that they will be given freedom if they submit to the leaders. Fromm further arg ues that the need to submit and the longing for freedom at the same time becomes a major function of capitalism which encourages isolation in the society on the whole. We will write a custom essay sample on Escape from Freedom Written by Erich Fromm or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page The biggest con that comes with freedom is social aloneness, which is something that man wants to escape by way of depending on others. The need for domination arises simultaneously, making the whole concept a kind of a paradox requiring great understanding and intellect to sort things out.