Erich Fromm and why he impressed me

[punisa]

Hi Comrades,

To put it short, I really enjoyed Erich Fromm's interview and agree with almost everything he stated.
Here is a video link I highly recommend you to watch: http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia/video/2008/wallace/fromm_erich.html

It's The Mike Wallace Interview with Erich Fromm dated 5/25/58.

I must say that I'm really shallow about the works of Fromm and would love to learn more.
Please do share your views and response to his work and featured video.

Btw, I found one very interesting quote from his book "The Sane Society" that deals with nationalism:

"Nationalism is our form of incest, is our idolatry, is our insanity. "Patriotism” is its cult. It should hardly be necessary to say, that by "patriotism” I mean that attitude which puts the own nation above humanity, above the principles of truth and justice; not the loving interest in one’s own nation, which is the concern with the nation’s spiritual as much as with its material welfare — never with its power over other nations. Just as love for one individual which excludes the love for others is not love, love for one’s country which is not part of one’s love for humanity is not love, but idolatrous worship."

If anyone knows any resources where I could find/download some of his works, please voice yourselves :)

[mykittyhasaboner]

agreed, this interview is great. for this stuff to be said in 1958 in US mainstream media is outstanding. i like most what he said about the lack creation and satisfaction when working. thank you for posting this, i know want to read more from him.

[punisa]

agreed, this interview is great. for this stuff to be said in 1958 in US mainstream media is outstanding. i like most what he said about the lack creation and satisfaction when working. thank you for posting this, i know want to read more from him.

Precisely :) I hope somebody will let us know where we can find more. I don't remember when someone just "hit" me like that, he was definitely ahead of its time.

[Dean]

This is why psychoanalysis, or psychology in general is important to Marxism (Fromm is also a Marxist). I wrote an introduction to his ideas on my webpage with suggested reading and a glimpse at what he thinks is necessary for the new society: http://dean.roushimsx.com/fromm.htm

Unfortunately, most of his works are still under copyright. But you can get his books pretty cheap on ebay (as low as 1-2 dollars + shipping) and there is some interesting stuff on his marxists.org page (http://www.marxists.org/archive/fromm/).

The Sane society is a wonderful read, but I think his most important works are "Escape From Freedom" and "Man For himself." "The Art of Loving" is a good, quick read which can introduce some of his ideas on associative orientations. The great think about Fromm is that he is easy to read and a lot of his stuff seems obvious, but important obvious things which we often ignore. I found his stuff amazing when I was 16 and have been reading it since. I think you need only look at my avatar to see how much I enjoy his work!

If I get time later this week, I may transcribe this interview and add it to my webpage. I already have another interview transcribed here: http://dean.roushimsx.com/fromminterview.htm

[punisa]

Thanks a lot Comrade Dean !

He really amazed me by the simplicity of presenting such deep topics. We could certainly use more psychology in understanding leftist ideology. Such approach and arguments are by far the best weapon we have.