Visions of A Sane Society: Fromm and Critical Theory for a Free, Democratic, and Sustainable Future

Building critically from the work of Erich Fromm, who argued that societies based on class domination foster aggressive personalities and normalize pathology, this unique book envisions spiritual‑intellectual‑emotional unity to promote a living experience of fulfilling and productive social relations.Visions of a Sane Society posits that the familiar left‑versus‑right political spectrum concept is long‑outdated and that the political and cultural battles of today are between those who support a common humanity and shared prosperity, and those who seek self‑aggrandizement and personal gratification. Based on contemporary research and psychodynamic theory, this work develops Fromm’s concept of the sane society to show the adverse emotional and intellectual consequences of alienated labor lead to authoritarianism and consumerism and that, in order to save the world from fascism and ecosystem collapse, the progressive side must succeed to unite diverse activist groups, overthrow the old hierarchies, and establish a society with ideals of democracy and equality. Fromm’s vision of a postcapitalist society would necessarily overcome the alienation inherent to capitalism, requiring not simply a change in the economic system through a humanistic socialism, but a fundamental change in the very nature of social character, which would be an egalitarian democratic society of caring, sharing, of people living in harmony with each other, and with Nature.This book is an important and vital resource for students and instructors in sociology, social theory, political sociology, social psychology, and political science, as well as activists, organizers, and community workers who want to understand contemporary social dynamics and the way toward a healthy and sustainable society for all.

About the Author

George Lundskow is Professor of Sociology at Grand Valley State University. He is the author of White Supremacy and Anti‑Supremacy Forces in the United States (2024), as well as co‑author with Sarah MacMillen of QAnon and Other Replacement Realities: How Religious Emotion Threatens Free Society but Can Also Contribute to a Progressive Future (2023).

Lauren Langman is Professor of Sociology at Loyola University, Chicago. He has published widely in critical theory and social movements, such as Alienation and the Carnivalization of Society (Routledge, 2012), which he co‑edited with Jerome Braun and volumes on hegemony and Arab Spring/Occupy.