Escape From Freedom

Fromm’s third chapter analyzes the historical development of notions of human freedom and the individual. Fromm shows how the modern idea of individuality traces its origin to the end of the Middle Ages in Europe, when a transition from a feudal society to a capitalist society ushered in new freedoms.

Fromm argues that the Middle Ages are fundamentally characterized by its “lack of individual freedom,” as within a feudal society, each person “was chained to his role in the social order” (57). Members of feudal societies were born into a certain social role (for instance, knights, lords, or peasants) and were expected to remain in that role for their entire lives. Although people’s lives were determined by their occupation, Fromm notes that individuals only sought to work the necessary amount to make a concrete contribution to their society and not for the sake of amassing money. At the same time that feudal society’s strict social order limited a person’s life choices, such ties to the community also offered individuals a sense of belonging and kept them from becoming isolated.

The rise of capitalism and the market led to the dissolution of Europe’s feudal society and its strict social order. The rise of capitalist societies in Europe offered people a wide range of freedoms previously unavailable to them, allowing them the ability to live their life however they might choose. In Italy, such newfound freedoms gave birth to the Renaissance and an outburst of artistic production that celebrated values such as knowledge and the pursuit of truth. However, Fromm argues that the freedom to pursue creative work was only available to Italy’s small wealthy class.

Fromm contrasts the developments in Renaissance Italy with those in Northern Europe. In countries like Germany and Switzerland, the development of capitalism created a large urban middle class. Though capitalism offered this middle class a freedom from the binds of feudal society, it did not provide them with the freedom to create in the ways it did for the wealthy Italian class. In turn, the urban middle classes in Northern Europe developed intense feelings of “isolation and personal insignificance” (120).

The religious ideologies of the Reformation, particularly Lutheranism and Calvinism, sought to offer these urban middle classes a sense of community while upholding the values of individuality. Both religious sects were founded so as to challenge the authority of the institution of the Catholic Church and emphasized the importance of an individual’s experience with god, as opposed to one mediated by a priest. Lutheranism argued that human beings are inherently evil and powerless to fight their proclivity for sin. Instead, Martin Luther argued that human beings must completely humiliate themselves, relinquish their individual freedoms, and devote themselves to following God’s will. Such teachings served as a means to offer the urban middle class a sense of certainty of their salvation, in the face of their “irrational doubt[s]” (96).

Calvinism was similar to Lutheranism in its emphasis on self-humiliation, though Calvinism differed to Lutheranism in its doctrine of pre-destination. According to John Calvin, God arbitrarily decided which individuals were going to hell and heaven before they were born, and one’s life actions had no impact on their place in the afterlife. However, Calvinists believed they must intensely devote themselves to God, as doing so would prove that God had chosen them to go to heaven. In turn, Calvinists began to celebrate the activity of working as a moral value and ceaselessly devoted themselves to their work. Fromm closes the chapter by arguing that while Calvinism and Lutheranism were a reaction to the rise of capitalism, the two sects’ focus on the worthlessness of the individual and the importance of work helped to fuel capitalism’s further development.