Erich Fromm's new book is of special importance in bringing together his basic statements on the application of psychoanalytic theory to social dynamics. It contains the first translation into English of his important early papers on social psychology, which laid the foundation for his synthesis of Marx and Freud. The title essay, specially written for this volume, argues that most psychoanalysis failed to develop Freud's theories in the spirit of a continual unmasking of rationalizations and ideologies. 'The Crisis of Psychoanalysis' also emphasizes the importance of the matriarchal principple, pointing to the erosion of patriarchal authority as well as indications in contemporary society which suggest the meergence of matriarchy in a new form. Other key essays discuss Marx's dynamic psychology, Freud's model of man, the human aspect of management and Freud's analysis of 'Little Hans'. Fromm insists throughout on the inadequacy of a therapy aimed at getting people to fit into our society and offers an image of man consistent with his hopes for a radical humanist psychoanalysis.
Author
Erich Fromm, Ph.D. (Sociology, University of Heidelberg, 1922), was a psychoanalyst and social philosopher who explored the interaction between psychology and society, and held various professorships in psychology in the U.S. and Mexico in the mid-20th century. Fromm's theory is a rather unique blend of Freud and Marx. Freud, of course, emphasized the unconscious, biological drives, repression, and so on. In other words, Freud postulated that our characters were determined by biology. Marx, on the other hand, saw people as determined by their society, and most especially by their economic systems.
