Sane Society by Erich Fromm is a profound political/social work that has been created in a search for an answer to the question if people are sane or not. People often question mental health of an individual, assuming automatically that it is the society which is sane while the individual is ill. Whether it is true or not, we don’t know. Just look around and you will see how many people try to cope with various mental issues such as depression, alcohol, eating disorders and so on, they would hardly call themselves absolutely and utterly sane. What is more, we are all - people of the 21st century - constituents of the very same society, thus the question of the society’s sanity is rather arguable.
From the point of view of a humanist, which Erich Fromm is, a human being is both blessed and cursed at the very same time. Reason, creativity, and morality enable us to dream and create. The only issue is that we are never satisfied; people simply cannot stop questioning their role on this planet. Though we are a part of the nature, we don’t really belong to it anymore. People have lost that unity with the nature a long time ago, but we are still mourning for that loss, for it was something understandable and dear to us.
As it has been stated, humankind can’t live idly and there is a simple explanation of it: people are the only “animal” that can be bored. Though it is rather questionable statement, it is next to impossible to disagree with the fact that people cannot live “statically” because of inner contradiction. The diverse world around us proves this point just fine. The impressive number of religions, ideas, movements, inventions is the result of our inability to satisfy the need for change and progress. However, unfortunately for us, our quest to find the meaning of our existence often leads to unpredictable consequences. Nazism, Stalinism, and Fascism were the traps people got into whist trying to find so needed answers.
Being a humanist, Erich Fromm proclaims that only love for man should underpin the new ideology around which humankind will unite. As for the author, he believes that Socialism will satisfy the needs of any human being, filling his/her life with meaning and protecting against exploiting regimes of the Western world. There have always been and surely will be threats to sanity, thus it is our task to do everything we can to prevent the catastrophe. Readers might not share the author’s view on the role of Socialism and its beneficial influence on the society, but they would hardly disagree with the fact that love – for fellow human beings and for this world – is the right path to take.
