Erich Fromm's Social Development Theories & Influences

One of Fromm's theories, called the five basic needs, likely surfaced from the uniqueness of his environment at the time. The theory relates to the development of each person's responsibility to promote the common good rather than comply passively to societal expectations. Fromm identified the five basic needs of every individual as follows:

Fromm also identified typical patterns of behavior that develop as people choose their direction in life. According to Fromm, people generally fall into one of the six character orientations:

Through his analysis of capitalism and class relations, Karl Marx developed Marxism, the principles behind socialism and communism. These ideas greatly influenced Erich Fromm. Fromm believed that socioeconomic status has an effect on personality development, which is necessary for maintaining a static, or unchanging, economic and social order.

Erich Fromm was a 20th century German psychoanalyst who began his career by studying Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis, developed by Freud, is a process of thoroughly examining how the events in a person's life have influenced that person's thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Soon, however, the influence of Marxism on his Freudian beliefs resulted in a departure of thought. Marxism describes the ideas of Karl Marx, which formed the basis of socialism and communism. While Freud stressed the power of unconscious desires, Fromm felt that personality development was more directly affected by socioeconomic status.

One of Fromm's theories, called the five basic needs, relates to the development of each person's responsibility to promote the common good rather than comply passively to societal expectations. As he wrote in his 1941 book, Escape from Freedom, Fromm believed that people are drawn to totalitarian leaders as a relief from the excessive freedom that is thrust upon them in adulthood. He also believed that capitalism causes a lack of connectedness between people, which causes the people in capitalistic societies to suffer mental health problems.