Escape from Reality

“It is truly amazing,” writes Erich Fromm in May Man Prevail, “how [Herman] Kahn . . . makes the most questionable statement in the field of psychology . . . without reference to any scientific data.” Eleven pages later he asserts that “to live for any length of time under the constant threat of destruction” creates psychological states that “will transform us into barbarians” indifferent to all cherished values. Remembering the behavior of most Englishmen in 1940-43 or the conduct of disciplined troops in many wartime situations, some will find this a highly questionable statement, and indeed the author cites no scientific data at all to support it, but since this is one of the few times in the book he uses psychology to analyze his subject (though he often uses it to explain away the conclusions of others that he finds unpalatable), we may pass on to that subject which is foreign policy.

Mr. Fromm’s aim is to challenge the premises on which American foreign policy is based. Chief among these is said to be the view that “Communism, represented by the Soviet Union and China, is a revolutionary-imperialist movement out to conquer the world by force or subversion.” The Soviet Union, retorts the author, is now a “politically conservative industrial managerialism” and “is against revolutions.” In contrast, China has a system of “anti-individualistic Communism,” and since “some of the Russian actions have more the purpose of containing the Chinese, than of conquering new territories,” even on Mr. Fromm’s view China must desire some kind of expansion; but it is nothing to get excited about, since we can grasp the reason for the Southeast Asian crisis by understanding that “Laos is vital to China’s security” (quoted by the author from Robert S. Elegant).

DT

About the Author

Donald W. Treadgold

Featured Tags

“It is truly amazing,” writes Erich Fromm in May Man Prevail, “how [Herman] Kahn . . . makes the most questionable statement in the field of psychology . . . without reference to any scientific data.” Eleven pages later he asserts that “to live for any length of time under the constant threat of destruction” creates psychological states that “will transform us into barbarians” indifferent to all cherished values. Remembering the behavior of most Englishmen in 1940-43 or the conduct of disciplined troops in many wartime situations, some will find this a highly questionable statement, and indeed the author cites no scientific data at all to support it, but since this is one of the few times in the book he uses psychology to analyze his subject (though he often uses it to explain away the conclusions of others that he finds unpalatable), we may pass on to that subject which is foreign policy.

Mr. Fromm’s aim is to challenge the premises on which American foreign policy is based. Chief among these is said to be the view that “Communism, represented by the Soviet Union and China, is a revolutionary-imperialist movement out to conquer the world by force or subversion.” The Soviet Union, retorts the author, is now a “politically conservative industrial managerialism” and “is against revolutions.” In contrast, China has a system of “anti-individualistic Communism,” and since “some of the Russian actions have more the purpose of containing the Chinese, than of conquering new territories,” even on Mr. Fromm’s view China must desire some kind of expansion; but it is nothing to get excited about, since we can grasp the reason for the Southeast Asian crisis by understanding that “Laos is vital to China’s security” (quoted by the author from Robert S. Elegant).