A Social and Psychological Discussion on Erich Fromm’s Escape Mechanism of Freedom and the Way towards Self-Realization

Abstract

A personal character is determined by the historical era in which one lives. Erich Fromm is particularly concerned with the debated issue of freedom, especially the escape mechanism of freedom. As a member of the Frankfurt School, Erich Fromm believes that human beings are mainly social beings, not a self-sufficient enclosed system. After analyzing how the escape mechanism for freedom is produced, Fromm advocates that positive freedom should be the freedom to develop oneself freely, to fully tap and realize one’s own potential, to pursue the ideal of truth, goodness and beauty, and to promote personal growth and happiness. Only when people actively play their own roles in the society can their sense of isolation and helplessness be overcome. Replacing authoritarian power with democracy and instilling to people the ideas about life, liberty and truth can they find a right path towards self-realization.