Why would anyone want to escape from Freedom? Well, in a complex system, any move will produce countermanding forces, and humans are slow-evolving creatures, and by merely shouting “you are free” we encounter some problems: 1) now what? and 2) it doesn’t line up with the reality of working every day and still falling behind.
While freedom is held up as an ideological holy grail, the reality on the ground is different: People do want to escape from freedom because having to “know who you are” is a tremendous strain when you are supposed to be an “authentic autonomous individual.” The strain to be free conversely leaves us feeling like frauds, isolated and alone, which hurts our socially evolved self.
Written around 1941, Erich Fromm‘s “Escape from Freedom” compares Socialist, Fascist Nazism and Hitler to America’s Liberal Democracy and the types of people it produces and those, in turn, who produce those systems. But he starts out with some history, so we can see what it looks like to move from (as Karl Popper calls it) a tribal ‘closed society‘ to a free ‘open society’ and why that move causes so many problems.
In the next episode, Escape from Freedom (pt 2), we will look at these “escape mechanisms” and Fromm’s solution: which is to be a genuine individual, an authentic self, which involves independent thinking (which most of us don’t do) and spontaneity (which I have some arguments against.) But until then, this episode maps a historical path that lays the groundwork for why modern man has so many problems.
We cover medieval feudal society altering into a competition for middle-class ascendency, contenting between the crown, the tradesman, and risk. This is echoed in Martin Luther's character, as a stand-in for the psychological and social character of the times, and his confusion and hatred giving rise to reformation. The dissolution of the church authority came at a higher cost: the need to lovingly submit to God, giving away your newfound freedom from authority.
In modern times, we have confused merchants in an industrial capitalist society attempting to find their "self" but viewing themselves as a commodity. This highlights the strain of individuality in a socially competitive world, leading to a burden of freedom and unique autonomy that many people shed, as they feel hollowed out and left behind by progress.
Mickey Mouse, created by Walt Disney, is an apt character for the times: a tiny creature combating nature and predatory with near escapes.
Part 2 will cover the psychological escape mechanisms people undertake to justify giving away their freedom.