Mechanisms of Escape Summary and Analysis

In Chapter V, Fromm presents the central ideas behind his theory of the mechanisms of escape referred to in the title of the work. He digresses from his mainly chronological structure to fill out the ideas he has been developing regarding man's isolation in a modern capitalist society and how individuals compensate for this fear and isolation. Crucial to his argument is the belief that societies have characters just as individuals do, and that by examining psychological mechanisms in individuals one can draw conclusions about the actions of the groups to which they belong. In this case, Fromm is preparing to analyze the rise of Nazism in Germany and what collective psychological mechanisms contribute to it.

The person who is confronting the kind f fear and isolation Fromm has described so far has two options as he...