[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-39669-en":3,"doc-seo-39669-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},39669,3848291630094,"Emma Wilson","https://eur-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45",2,"Literature","Erich Fromm The Fear of Freedom Routledge Classics","Erich Fromm examines freedom as a psychological problem shaped by modern social and cultural forces. The book argues that liberation from traditional bonds brings independence and rationality while also producing isolation, anxiety, and powerlessness. It explains why people flee from freedom into new dependencies such as authoritarian submission or conformity. Through analyses of escape mechanisms, Nazism’s psychological roots, and the tension between freedom and democracy, the work frames positive freedom as the realization of individuality. The text concludes with implications for resisting totalitarianism.","Erich Fromm  \nThe Fear of Freedom  \nFirst published in Great Britain in 1942  \nI f I am no t fo r myse lf , who wi l l be fo r me? I f I am fo r myse lf on l y, what am I ? I f no t now- -when ?  \nTalmudic Saying Mishnah, Abot  \nNe i ther heaven ly nor ear th l y, ne i ther morta l nor immor ta l have we c rea ted thee , so tha t thou migh t es t be free acco rd ing to thy own wi l l and honou r, to be thy own  \nc rea to r and bu i lde r . To thee a lone we gave growth and deve lopment depending on thy own free wi l l . Thou beares t i n thee the germs of a un i versa l l i fe .  \nPicodella Mirandola Oratio de Hom'mu Dignitate  \nNoth ing then i s unchangeab le bu t the i nheren t and i na l i enab le r igh ts of man .  \nThomas Jefferson  \nContents  \nForeword  \nviii  \ni Freedom- -A Psychological Problem? i  \n2 The Emergence of the Individual and the Ambiguity of Freedom 19  \n3 Freedom in the Age of the Reformation 33  \n1 Medieval Background and the Renaissance 33  \n2 The Period of the Reformation 54  \n4 The Two Aspects of Freedom for Modern Man 89  \n5 Mechanisms of Escape  \n117  \n1 Authoritarianism  \n122  \n2 Destructiveness  \n153  \n3 Automaton Conformity 158  \n6 Psychology of Nazism  \n178  \n7 Freedom and Democracy 207  \n1 The Illusion of Individuality 207  \n2 Freedom and Spontaneity 221  \nAppendix: Character and the Social  \nProcess  \n238  \nIndex  \nForeword  \nThis book is part of a broad study concerning the character structure of modern man and the problems of the interaction between psychological and sociological factors which I have been working on for several years and completion of which would have taken considerably longer . Present political developments and the dangers which they imply for the greatest achievements of modern culture- -individuality and uniqueness of personality- -made me decide to interrupt the work on the larger study and concentrate on one aspect of it which is crucial for the cultural and social crisis of our day: the meaning of freedom for modern man . My task in this book would be easier could I refer the reader to the completed study of the character structure of man in our culture, since the meaning of freedom can be fully understood only on the basis of an analysis of the whole character structure of modern man . As it is, I have had to refer frequently to certain concepts and conclusions without elaborating on them as fully as 1 would have done with more scope . In regard to other problems of great importance, I have  \nFOREWORD IX  \noften been able to mention them only in passing and sometimes not at all . But I feel that the psychologist should offer what he has to contribute to the understanding of the present crisis without delay, even though he must sacrifice the desideratum of completeness .  \nPointing out the significance of psychological considerations in relation to the present scene does not imply, in my opinion, an overestimation of psychology . The basic entity of the social process is the individual, his desires and fears, his passions and reason, his propensities for good and for evil . To understand the dynamics of the social process we must understand the dynamics of the psychological processes operating within the individual, just as to understand the individual we must see him in the context of the culture which moulds him . It is  \nthe thesis of this book that modern man, freed from the bonds of preindividualistic  \nsociety, which simultaneously gave him security and limited him,  \nhas not gained freedom in the positive sense of the realization of his individual self; that is, the expression of his intellectual, emotional and sensuous potentialities . Freedom, though it has brought him independence and rationality, has made him isolated and, thereby, anxious and powerless . This isolation is unbearable and the alternatives he is confronted with are either to escape from the burden of this freedom into new dependencies and submission, or to advance to the full realization of po","cbCaifBFOXVUxSsX","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifBFOXVUxSsX","pdf",609020,4,1,257,"English","en",105,"# Foreword\n# Freedom—A Psychological Problem?\n# The Emergence of the Individual and the Ambiguity of Freedom\n# Freedom in the Age of the Reformation\n## Medieval Background and the Renaissance\n## The Period of the Reformation\n# The Two Aspects of Freedom for Modern Man\n# Mechanisms of Escape\n## Authoritarianism\n## Destructiveness\n## Automaton Conformity\n# Psychology of Nazism\n# Freedom and Democracy\n## The Illusion of Individuality\n## Freedom and Spontaneity\n# Appendix: Character and the Social Process\n# Index","[{\"question\":\"What does Fromm mean by freedom as a psychological problem?\",\"answer\":\"Fromm treats freedom not only as a political or moral concept, but as something that affects the inner life of the individual through psychological dynamics. He links modern freedom to isolation, anxiety, and powerlessness rather than purely positive self-realization.\"},{\"question\":\"Why do people tend to escape from freedom, according to the book?\",\"answer\":\"The book describes escape into new dependencies and submission or into forms of conformity that relieve the unbearable burden of freedom. It discusses authoritarianism, destructiveness, and automaton conformity as distinct mechanisms.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the book connect freedom with democracy and totalitarianism?\",\"answer\":\"Fromm argues that understanding the psychological reasons behind the flight from freedom is a premise for action against totalitarian forces. Within “Freedom and Democracy,” he contrasts the illusion of individuality and the relationship between freedom and spontaneity.\"}]",1783085811,396,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":28},"erich-fromm-the-fear-of-freedom-routledge-classics","",{"@graph":36,"@context":84},[37,52,67],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,47,50],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",{"item":48,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":49},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":51,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/erich-fromm-the-fear-of-freedom-routledge-classics/39669/",{"url":51,"name":13,"@type":53,"author":54,"headline":13,"publisher":56,"fileFormat":59,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":60,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":59,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":55},"Person",{"url":41,"name":57,"@type":58},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-13","2026-07-03",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"What does Fromm mean by freedom as a psychological problem?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"Fromm treats freedom not only as a political or moral concept, but as something that affects the inner life of the individual through psychological dynamics. He links modern freedom to isolation, anxiety, and powerlessness rather than purely positive self-realization.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"Why do people tend to escape from freedom, according to the book?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"The book describes escape into new dependencies and submission or into forms of conformity that relieve the unbearable burden of freedom. It discusses authoritarianism, destructiveness, and automaton conformity as distinct mechanisms.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"How does the book connect freedom with democracy and totalitarianism?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"Fromm argues that understanding the psychological reasons behind the flight from freedom is a premise for action against totalitarian forces. Within “Freedom and Democracy,” he contrasts the illusion of individuality and the relationship between freedom and spontaneity.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":51,"og:type":86,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":57,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":88,"canonical":51},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":25},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":91},[92,96,99,103,108,113,118,123,128,131,135],{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},80,"literature",{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":104,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":109,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":114,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":119,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":130},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":134},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":136,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":138},19,"General","general"]