The Sane Society
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make these vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the errors to be truths, and the fact that millions of people share the same form of mental pathology does not make these people sane."--The Sane Society (1955) by Erich Fromm |
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The Sane Society (1955) is a book by psychologist Erich Fromm.
It argued in favor of humanistic and democratic socialism. Building primarily upon the early works of Karl Marx, Fromm sought to re-emphasise the ideal of personal freedom, missing from most Soviet Marxism, and more frequently found in the writings of libertarian socialists and liberal theoreticians. Fromm's brand of socialism rejected both Western capitalism and Soviet communism, which he saw as dehumanizing and bureaucratic social structures that resulted in a virtually universal modern phenomenon of alienation.
Sanity
In this book Fromm proposed that, not just individuals, but entire societies "may be lacking in sanity".
Fromm argued that one of the most deceptive features of social life involves consensual validation:
- It is naively assumed that the fact that the majority of people share certain ideas or feelings proves the validity of these ideas and feelings. Nothing is further from the truth... Just as there is a 'Folie à deux' there is a 'folie à millions.' The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make these vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the errors to be truths, and the fact that millions of people share the same form of mental pathology does not make these people sane. (in: Fromm, The Sane Society, Routledge, 1955, pp.14-15)
See also
- Sane
- Sociatry
- Sane
- Delusion
- "Madness is rare in individuals—but in groups, parties, nations, and ages it is the rule."-- Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche
