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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What forces in a capitalistic society isolate people?

2. Who must support the central bureaucracy in order for it to achieve its goal?

3. What psychological idea is destructiveness related to?

4. What does the development of individual and social characters lead to?

5. What is the term Fromm uses to describe an individual act that does not compromise one's integrity?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Nazism so appealing to the lower middle class of Germans?

2. What is the social function of education?

3. What were the economic, social, and political conditions like in Germany prior to Hitler's rise to power?

4. What is social character?

5. How does Fromm describe masochistic people?

6. How is an individual's character structure affected by economic and political changes?

7. What characteristics describe the first group of Germans who supported the Nazis?

8. What two choices does a person have when confronted by isolation and fear in achieving freedom?

9. What role does the family have in developing the character structure of an individual?

10. What is spontaneous action and original thought?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define the political, social and economic impact capitalism had on individual freedom. In your answer, address the following historical events:

1). The Protestant Reformation-How did this religious movement bring about economic change and increased social class freedom?

2). The Renaissance-How was this movement characterized by capitalism? What impact did it have on society and the individual?

3). Post World War I Germany-how did the economic situation of inflation and depression change the political an social climate in pre-Nazi Germany?

Essay Topic 2

Compare Fromm and Freud's points of view on human development. In your essay, answer the following questions:

1). How are Freud and Fromm similar in their beliefs of human development?

2). What beliefs are different between these two thinkers?

3). Describe Fromm's analysis of other academics beliefs, including the Marxist historians and "idealists" like Weber.

Essay Topic 3

Describe a fictitious society where man has complete and total freedom. Your essay should answer the following questions:

1). What is the political structure of this society?

2). Is there one central authority figure? If so, describe this individual. If not, explain why this individual does not exist.

3). What structures/ideologies/rules are in place that guarantee man his freedom?

4). Is everyone happy with the amount of freedom given to them?

5). Based on Fromm's definition of freedom, what would he say about this society? Would he agree that the individuals in this society have complete and total freedom?

(see the answer keys)

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