To Have or To Be by Erich Fromm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

To Have or To Be by Erich Fromm - Essay Example The problem with the â€Å"having† mode is that the greed for money and possession can never be satisfied no matter how much has acquired. People will always use dubious means to get more; including the exploitation of fellow human beings. â€Å"The ordinary man with extraordinary power is the chief danger for mankind† Fromm, (67). There is always a cut-throat competition among members of society in getting more possession. And when one has acquired a certain amount of riches, he is struck by paranoia. He or she is in a constant state of fear that the property may be stolen or that death may come so soon. Unlike the â€Å"having† mode, the â€Å"being† mode is quite a stationary state in life. Here, man does not really seem to toil for money and other materialistic things of the world. Man is satisfied with the intangible aspects of life such as peace and harmony. He adores love as the only source of joy: â€Å"Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problems of human† (Fromm, 70). He can get pleasure without using money. In fact, everything is a source of his happiness, depending on the perception. The individuals in this state are selfless and can freely share whatever little they have. To them, all the worldly things are meaningless and perishable. Therefore, they see no great deal in investing in material things. The problem with the â€Å"being† mode is that an individual may be isolated from the modern society whose most members are in the â€Å"having† mode. Since the pleasure of the people in this mode is free, they may sometime s misuse this freedom. The problem with â€Å"industrial religion† is that it is economic oriented and enslaves its followers by work. According the ancient religion was viewed as matriarchal where; the church was full of unconditional love and mercy. However, the modern churches are viewed as patriarchal; justice is the order of the day. Fromm states, â€Å"The deepest desire of the human