Read Erich Fromm’s ‘To Have or to Be?’…
Its all Marx…put in spiritual/philosophical way…he adds a psychological dimension to it, coz he’s a psychologist…
Here are some points I liked…
If you have read Marx, then this is soooooooooo amazing…
(Page numbers in brackets)
There are dimension of existence- the being and the having. They exist together. The being is of experience and expression…its about loving, sharing and relating to other human beings..
and the having is about possession and urges of survival (thus, commodification).
You can never loose what you be but you can loose what you have
You are what you be, not what you have
While having is based on something that is diminished by use, being grows by practice
“Only to the extent that we decrease the mode of having, that is the mode of non- being, can the mode of being emerge.” (89)
Though the capitalist society has made us believe that we are what we have…the being is reduced in capitalism…
He says that today “activity is a socially recognized purposeful behavior that results in corresponding social useful change.” (90)
But he thinks this activity is alienating…because it doesn’t give us space to experience ourselves… “In alienated activity, I do not really act, I am acted upon by external or internal forces”. (90)
For him, non –alienating activity is when I give birth to something remaining related to what I produce….he calls this productive activity…this is a part of human nature
REMEMBER THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT MARX SAYS
(Fromm does nothing but condense Marx’s ideas)
these are some cool lines…think about them!!
“The unconsciousness is basically determined by society, which produces irrational passions and provides its members with various kinds of fiction and thus, forces the truth to become the prisoner of the alleged rationality.”(98)
this is what he says about the rich “ they do not have everything they wish and they wish for everything they do not have”.
“Human beings are more afraid of being outcasts then even of dying. Crucial to every society is a the kind of union and solidarity it fosters and the kind it can further, under the given conditions of its socio-economic structure” (105)
Fear is not about dying but about losing what I have- my body, my life…(thus, reducing these to a commodity).
what made me high was his concept of love…
“Genuine love increases the capacity to love and to give to others. The true lover loves the world, in his or her love for a specific person.” (103)
“The human desire to experience union with others is rooted in the specific conditions of existence that characterize the human species and is one of the strongest motivators of human behavior”.
Is this why we want to love?? (love, being union with others)…maybe coz it’s a part of human nature and it doesn’t motivate us to take things up…And head on…also, can we do without motivation?
“The truth is that there is no such thing as ‘love’. In reality, there exists only the act of loving. To love is a productive activity. It implies caring for, knowing, responding, affirming, enjoying the person, the tree, the painting, the idea. It means bringing to life, increasing his/her/its awareness. It is a process of self- renewing and self- increasing. What people call love is mostly a misuse of a word, in order to hide the reality of their not loving” (45)
Being in love is cool, coz having love ceases love coz love becomes a property contained and possessed.
“The marriage contract gives each partner the exclusive possession of the other’s body, feelings and care. Nobody has to be won over any more, because love has become something one has as a property. They cease to make the effort to be lovable and to produce love, hence they become boring…” (46)… “Instead of loving each other, they settle for owning together…” (like a house, kids, car…etc.)
“ In the being mode, more than person- in fact millions of people can share in the enjoyment of the same object, since no one need- or –want to have it….this not only avoids strife…it creates one the deepest forms of human happiness: shared enjoyment. Nothing unites people more than sharing their admiration and love for a person, sharing an idea, piece of music…the experience of sharing makes and keeps the relation between two individuals alive; it is the basis of all great movement…(but it must be genuine love)
he quotes from Marx…( I love this!!)
“The less you are and the less you express your life- the more you have and the greater is your alienated life...everything the economist takes away from you in the way of life and humanity, he restores to you in the form of money and wealth” (157)
“If you love without evoking love in return, i.e. if you are not able to be the manifestation of yourself as a loving person, to make yourself a beloved person, then your love is impotent and a misfortune” (158)
Its all Marx…put in spiritual/philosophical way…he adds a psychological dimension to it, coz he’s a psychologist…
Here are some points I liked…
If you have read Marx, then this is soooooooooo amazing…
(Page numbers in brackets)
There are dimension of existence- the being and the having. They exist together. The being is of experience and expression…its about loving, sharing and relating to other human beings..
and the having is about possession and urges of survival (thus, commodification).
You can never loose what you be but you can loose what you have
You are what you be, not what you have
While having is based on something that is diminished by use, being grows by practice
“Only to the extent that we decrease the mode of having, that is the mode of non- being, can the mode of being emerge.” (89)
Though the capitalist society has made us believe that we are what we have…the being is reduced in capitalism…
He says that today “activity is a socially recognized purposeful behavior that results in corresponding social useful change.” (90)
But he thinks this activity is alienating…because it doesn’t give us space to experience ourselves… “In alienated activity, I do not really act, I am acted upon by external or internal forces”. (90)
For him, non –alienating activity is when I give birth to something remaining related to what I produce….he calls this productive activity…this is a part of human nature
REMEMBER THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT MARX SAYS
(Fromm does nothing but condense Marx’s ideas)
these are some cool lines…think about them!!
“The unconsciousness is basically determined by society, which produces irrational passions and provides its members with various kinds of fiction and thus, forces the truth to become the prisoner of the alleged rationality.”(98)
this is what he says about the rich “ they do not have everything they wish and they wish for everything they do not have”.
“Human beings are more afraid of being outcasts then even of dying. Crucial to every society is a the kind of union and solidarity it fosters and the kind it can further, under the given conditions of its socio-economic structure” (105)
Fear is not about dying but about losing what I have- my body, my life…(thus, reducing these to a commodity).
what made me high was his concept of love…
“Genuine love increases the capacity to love and to give to others. The true lover loves the world, in his or her love for a specific person.” (103)
“The human desire to experience union with others is rooted in the specific conditions of existence that characterize the human species and is one of the strongest motivators of human behavior”.
Is this why we want to love?? (love, being union with others)…maybe coz it’s a part of human nature and it doesn’t motivate us to take things up…And head on…also, can we do without motivation?
“The truth is that there is no such thing as ‘love’. In reality, there exists only the act of loving. To love is a productive activity. It implies caring for, knowing, responding, affirming, enjoying the person, the tree, the painting, the idea. It means bringing to life, increasing his/her/its awareness. It is a process of self- renewing and self- increasing. What people call love is mostly a misuse of a word, in order to hide the reality of their not loving” (45)
Being in love is cool, coz having love ceases love coz love becomes a property contained and possessed.
“The marriage contract gives each partner the exclusive possession of the other’s body, feelings and care. Nobody has to be won over any more, because love has become something one has as a property. They cease to make the effort to be lovable and to produce love, hence they become boring…” (46)… “Instead of loving each other, they settle for owning together…” (like a house, kids, car…etc.)
“ In the being mode, more than person- in fact millions of people can share in the enjoyment of the same object, since no one need- or –want to have it….this not only avoids strife…it creates one the deepest forms of human happiness: shared enjoyment. Nothing unites people more than sharing their admiration and love for a person, sharing an idea, piece of music…the experience of sharing makes and keeps the relation between two individuals alive; it is the basis of all great movement…(but it must be genuine love)
he quotes from Marx…( I love this!!)
“The less you are and the less you express your life- the more you have and the greater is your alienated life...everything the economist takes away from you in the way of life and humanity, he restores to you in the form of money and wealth” (157)
“If you love without evoking love in return, i.e. if you are not able to be the manifestation of yourself as a loving person, to make yourself a beloved person, then your love is impotent and a misfortune” (158)
