Fromm, a social psychologist, differentiates between what he calls self-love, and selfishness or narcissism. He sees self-love as conjunctive with love for everything and everyone, a certain type of loving attitude that stems from allowing oneself to be creative and liberated (this was written almost 70 years ago, and might sound a little New-Agey today, but only because I am summarizing the man's work in one sentence).
Fromm dissects Freud's assertion that "the selfish person...had withdrawn his love from others and turned it toward his own person" and concludes that "selfish persons are incapable of loving others, but they are not capable of loving themselves either". This might seem common sensical to most (some?) people, but was somewhat of a revelation in the 1940s.
The way Fromm deals with this topic in Escape from Freedom - an analysis concerning political and social issues and not just personal feelings - is more interesting (p.116-117). There, Fromm discusses his concept of the Marketing Orientation, which he sees as the type of personality most common to individuals living in capitalist societies.
In a nutshell, such individuals experience themselves as objects and
relate to each other as products on the market place. They view
everything, including their behavior towards others, as a "deal" .
Everything they do, buy, or say has a calculated purpose aimed at
creating a profitable exchange, either in order to get something in
return or to advertise their value for the sake of a future
transaction.
It is common, according to Fromm, for such a person to "fall in love" with the object he confuses for his own self. That object is made of all of man's posessions, his title, and the way he is perceived by others. While he believes that his actions are driven by genuine and objective personal benefit, "The 'self' in the interest of which modern man acts is the social self, a self which is essentially constituted by the role the individual is supposed to play and which in reality is merely the subjective disguise for the objective social function of man in soceity."
And so, Fromm continues, "Modern selfishness is the greed that is rooted in the frustration of the real self and whose object is the social self". To put it simply, people in modern society are frustrated with their inability to follow their natural inclinations, so they adopt and "fall in love with" an idea of who they are, an idea based on the role they are expected to play as valuable citizens (who consume and produce incessantly). In this way, they give up their true self and subjugate themselves to society, making sure the wheels of capitalism keep spinning without interruption.
*This is a very short summary of ideas developed in detail in three books. It uses broad generalizations, and aims to generate an interest in reading Fromm's full analysis. For more information, check out The Art of Loving
, Escape from Freedom, and The Sane Society.
It is common, according to Fromm, for such a person to "fall in love" with the object he confuses for his own self. That object is made of all of man's posessions, his title, and the way he is perceived by others. While he believes that his actions are driven by genuine and objective personal benefit, "The 'self' in the interest of which modern man acts is the social self, a self which is essentially constituted by the role the individual is supposed to play and which in reality is merely the subjective disguise for the objective social function of man in soceity."
And so, Fromm continues, "Modern selfishness is the greed that is rooted in the frustration of the real self and whose object is the social self". To put it simply, people in modern society are frustrated with their inability to follow their natural inclinations, so they adopt and "fall in love with" an idea of who they are, an idea based on the role they are expected to play as valuable citizens (who consume and produce incessantly). In this way, they give up their true self and subjugate themselves to society, making sure the wheels of capitalism keep spinning without interruption.
*This is a very short summary of ideas developed in detail in three books. It uses broad generalizations, and aims to generate an interest in reading Fromm's full analysis. For more information, check out The Art of Loving
, Escape from Freedom, and The Sane Society.
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