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From the fight against the authority of the Church, State and family which characterize the last centuries, we have come back full circle to a new obedience; but this obedience is not one to autocratic persons, but to the organization. The ‘organization man’ is not aware that he obeys; he believes that he only conforms with what is rational and practical.

— Erich Fromm Beyond the Chains of Illusion (1989)

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More quotes by Erich Fromm

Immature love says: "I love you because I need you." Mature love says: "I need you because I love you."

The Art of Loving (1956)

Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve and from which he cannot escape.

Man for Himself (1947)

The successful revolutionary is a statesman, the unsuccessful one a criminal.

Escape from Freedom (1941)

The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers.

Man for Himself (1947)

Only the person who has faith in himself is able to be faithful to others.

Man for Himself (1947)

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Men accept servility in order to acquire wealth; as if they could acquire anything of their own when they cannot even assert that they belong to themselves.

Étienne de La Boétie Discourse on Voluntary Servitude (1548)

The confusion of marriage with morality has done more to destroy the conscience of the human race than any other single error.

George Bernard Shaw Man and Superman (1903)

Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.

C. S. Lewis God in the Dock (1970)

Affectation hides three times as many virtues as charity does sins.

Horace Mann Thoughts Selected from the Writings of Horace Mann (1867)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Erich Fromm (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.