On Disobedience by Erich Fromm

Author:Erich Fromm
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins

Chapter IV

Humanist Socialism

On the basis of the general analysis of capitalism, communism, and humanistic socialism, a socialist program must differentiate between three aspects: What are the principles underlying the idea of a socialist party? What are the intermediate goals of humanistic socialism for the realization of which socialists work? What are the immediate short-range goals for which socialists work, as intermediate goals have not yet been achieved?

What are the principles which underlie the idea of a humanistic socialism? Every social and economic system is not only a specific system of relations between things and institutions, but a system of human relations. Any concept and practice of socialism must be examined in terms of the kind of relations between human beings to which it is conducive.

The supreme value in all social and economic arrangements is man; the goal of society is to offer the conditions for the full development of man’s potentialities, his reason, his love, his creativity; all social arrangements must be conducive to overcoming the alienation and crippledness of man, and to enable him to achieve real freedom and individuality. The aim of socialism is an association in which the full development of each is the condition for the full development of

all.

The supreme principle of socialism is that man takes precedence over things, life over property, and hence, work over capital; that power follows creation, and not possession; that man must not be governed by circumstances, but circumstances must be governed by man.

In relations between people, every man is an end in himself and must never be made into a means to another man’s ends. From this principle it follows that nobody must personally be subject to anyone because he owns capital.

Humanistic socialism is rooted in the conviction of the unity of mankind and the solidarity of all men. It fights any kind of worship of State, nation, or class. The supreme loyalty of man must be to the human race and to the moral principles of humanism. It strives for the revitalization of those ideas and values upon which Western civilization was built.

Humanistic socialism is radically opposed to war and violence in all and any forms. It considers any attempt to solve political and social problems by force and violence not only as futile, but as immoral and inhuman. Hence it is uncompromisingly opposed to any policy which tries to achieve security by armament. It considers peace to be not only the absence of war, but a positive principle of human relations based on free cooperation of all men for the common good.

From socialist principles it follows not only that each member of society feels responsible for his fellow citizens, but for all citizens of the world. The injustice which lets two-thirds of the human race live in abysmal poverty must be removed by an effort far beyond the ones hitherto made by wealthy nations to help the underdeveloped nations to arrive at a humanly satisfactory economic level.

Humanistic socialism stands for freedom. It stands for freedom from fear, want, oppression, and violence.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.