Gin > Recent Status Updates

‘The despair of the human automaton is fertile soil for the political purposes of Fascism.’

Fromm really knows how to turn a phrase.

“We are informed of the individual name of the railroad clerk we buy our tickets from; handbags, playing cards, and portable radios are "personalized", by having the initials of the owner put on them. All this indicates the hunger for "difference" and yet these are almost the last vestiges of individuality that are left. Modern man is starved for life.”

As relevant when he wrote it as it is a 100 years later.

Under “Automaton Conformity” ‘… the individual ceases to be himself; he adopts entirely the kind of personality offered to him by cultural pattern; and he therefore become exactly as all others are and as they expect him to me.’

A good summary here of what he had covered in the pre ending chapters. Hostility of the middle class - unable to enjoy life as they would like and envious against those who can - repression of desires as leading to destructive tendencies manifesting consequently?

Could the first paragraph be explain MAGA?

“Once man was ready to become nothing but the means for the glory of a God who represented neither justice nor love, he was sufficiently prepared to accept the rôle of a servant to the economic machine - and eventually a “Führer”.”

Protestantism and the link between Capitalism and Authoritarianism - submission to a force bigger than the individual - the economy or an authoritarian leader like Hitler.

Sounds like the MAGA folks, for which they readily submit to Trump and hope to share and bask in his glory. MAGa substituted the Christian god for Trump. Fromm’s analysis is every bit as relevant today, especially in present day America.

The suggestions are highly US centric.

Some of the examples here are very US and/or Anglo-centric. Need to keep in mind when trying to apply the insights and findings to other societies. Especially Asian societies. The graph in Chapter 1 on Asia bucking the trend is itself interesting and needs to be further investigated.

Wow, the chapter on Crimes of Envy is really pushing the use of Envy to its limit. Even accounting for the fact that criminological, psychological and brain science is not as further developed as it is today, it’s doubtful that all the cases that he mentioned can be really attributed to Envy.

Keeps questioning and pointing out why Envy is not more studied or included by philosophers, social scientists and the like. Feels though like he is trying to make Envy a thing, which to be honest, at this point doesn’t seem convincing.

Odd conclusion that he comes to “that man experiences his membership of a group not as fulfilment but as diminution”, and seems more of a statement that betrays his ideological inclination than a statement of fact.

Schoeck writes somewhat disapprovingly about Miligram’s acceptance of restrictions in Norwegian society in the interest of the community. I think that it can be a bit of balanced between the two sides - not for total individuality at the expense of the group, but neither should group cohesion suffocate the individual.

The book was written in 1966, and it shows. Chapter 5 feels like an indictment of the pursuit of equality, and uses cases from primitive tribes to make the case against greater equality. It feels like a stretch though, that just because envy stifles innovation and development, and the only way to guard against envy is to be the same (equal), thus the implication is that the pursuit of equality is undesirable.