Links Between Work, Character, and Education. The Actuality of Erich Fromm’s Analytical Social Psychology

Abstract This article reveals the basic ideas of Erich Fromm’s analytical social psychology and shows links among work, character and education. Social changes may be better understood in the background of work evolution. Today the concept of waged work has been extended to unpaid activities. At the same time, the working life has been changed from a stable model to a flexible one. The work, its standards and social distribution, are also different now. Erich Fromm’s concept of ‘social character’ clarifies the changes and explains the consequences of the social changes. The relations to work are also different. During these changes - unemployment included - concepts of the unconditional basic income were studied. These concepts explain why it’s possible for people without waged work to participate in community life and consumption, without being excluded. The author presents the basic social changes that affected many different subpopulation and age groups.