“The average man of today is almost totally narcotized by the entertainment industry; his capacity for genuine experience and feeling has been greatly impaired. He tries to save himself from anxiety and loneliness by an ever-increasing consumption of material goods and entertainment.”
—
Erich Fromm
The Sane Society (1955), Rinehart, Ch. 1; also in To Have or to Be? (1976)
Commentary
Fromm offers a trenchant critique of consumer capitalism: mass entertainment and commodity consumption are not innocent pleasures but psychological defenses against existential anxiety. They narcotize—literally anesthetize—authentic experience and feeling.
This critique was prescient (written 1955; still more accurate now). The 'ever-increasing consumption' describes compulsive shopping and digital consumption. Fromm's solution: move from a 'having mode' (accumulation, consumption, control) to a 'being mode' (experience, creativity, relationship). This influenced anti-consumerist philosophy and critical psychology.
Commentary
Fromm offers a trenchant critique of consumer capitalism: mass entertainment and commodity consumption are not innocent pleasures but psychological defenses against existential anxiety. They narcotize—literally anesthetize—authentic experience and feeling.
This critique was prescient (written 1955; still more accurate now). The 'ever-increasing consumption' describes compulsive shopping and digital consumption. Fromm's solution: move from a 'having mode' (accumulation, consumption, control) to a 'being mode' (experience, creativity, relationship). This influenced anti-consumerist philosophy and critical psychology.