Drama of the Modern World by Erich Fromm

Erich Fromm was a profound specialist in social psychology, and many of his ideas have tremendous importance for modern society on the way for self-conceptualization, finding the way out of the pessimism of the 20th century, and stipulating elevated goals for the future in the long run. He emphasized the social nature of every individual and the vast impact produced by the social contacts on his or her formation. Fromm distinguished two dominant influences on people – necrophilia (love of death) and biophilia (love of life) and explained the 20th-century events in these terms (Fromm 326). Turning to his essay “The Individual in the Chains of Illusion”, one can see that Fromm outlines the main reasons for the two World Wars and the impact they produced on the human minds, souls, and world perception. Stating that humanity’s hope was shuttered by WW I but yet not destroyed, he shows how stressful the second war was and what destructive consequences it gave. Speaking about individualism, he states that the modern organizational cult has destroyed individual incentives, wishes for disobedience, thus preventing the civilization to pursue its path of progress (Fromm 332). Fromm sees the main drama of the modern world in nationalism that destroyed humanism, and sees the only way out in creating a man of the new generation – One Man in One World, which will lead to unification, erasing boundaries and peace in the world that is certain to prevent any more armed conflicts lie two world wars (Fromm 333-336).