Appendix: Character and the Social Process Summary and Analysis

In an appendix to the main work, Fromm fills out some of the theoretical ideas behind his historical analysis of the development of modern society and the fear and isolation that has accompanied it.

Fromm defends his idea that one can make inferences about a society's character based on the analysis of its individual members. The typical character that is the most common among these individuals can be said to make up the character of their society. This social character in turn influences the social process, the process by which people learn to become productive members of their society.

Fromm takes care to note that his social interpretation of human development differs fundamentally from Freud's. Freud, Fromm writes, views the individual as a self-standing unit in his development, with internal conflicts...