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To Have or to Be?

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To Have or to Be?

By: Erich Fromm
Narrated by: Adriel Brandt
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About this listen

To Have or to Be? is one of the seminal books of the second half of the 20th century. Nothing less than a manifesto for a new social and psychological revolution to save our threatened planet, this book is a summary of the penetrating thought of Erich Fromm. His thesis is that two modes of existence struggle for the spirit of humankind: the having mode, which concentrates on material possessions, power, and aggression, and is the basis of the universal evils of greed, envy, and violence; and the being mode, which is based on love, the pleasure of sharing, and in productive activity. To Have or to Be? is a brilliant program for socioeconomic change.

©1976 The Estate of Erich Fromm (P)2020 Upfront Books Consciousness & Thought Movements Philosophy Society Sociology

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Erich Fromm is an amazing theoretician and portrays his views so eloquently. The read was clear and enjoyable.

Great book

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Erich Fromm is profound in his understanding of the forces keeping our societies stuck, unhappy, hopeless, corrupt and alienated. This man’s thinking is like a cold compress on the wounds created by the heartless, systematic indoctrination we are exposed to since our earliest years of life and that we then have to play out, virtually living as strangers to ourselves and others. This book, along with ‘The art of loving’ and ‘The art of being’ offers excellent perspectives and actual avenues for changing your life into one that is based on being genuine, warm, heart-driven, but also reasonable. I’d recommend combining Erich Fromm’s thinking with Alan Watts’ for an even deeper effect in this direction.

In short, I feel genuinely empowered to live a better, more true-to-self life, as well as to educate others in doing so. Much recommended.

Yet another incredible, visionary work

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Amazing prophetic book, still valid although it was written in 1976. A sort of philosophical, psychological, sociological manual for our times, in few words a classic!

To have or to be

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A detailed exploration and analysis of these two ways of living, both from an individual perspective and from the societal perspective.
I found it valuable in raising my awareness regarding these two approaches, and stimulating my thinking.
I will read it again at some point as I feel there is more to learn from it than i gathered from the first read, and it is a subject that is of key importance.

Excellent analysis of a very important subject

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