Erich Fromm, The Sane Society (1955), ch. 9

In the nineteenth century the problem was that God is dead; in the twentieth century the problem is that man is dead. In the nineteenth century inhumanity meant cruelty; in the twentieth century it means schizoid self-alienation. The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that men may become robots.

— Erich Fromm on History of slavery

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "In the nineteenth century the problem was that God is dead; in the twentieth century the problem is that man is dead. In the nineteenth century inhumanity meant cruelty; in the twentieth century it means schizoid self-alienation. The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that men may become robots." in the context of "Erich Fromm, The Sane Society (1955), ch. 9" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "History of slavery" (Quotes, 20th century) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Erich Fromm

About Erich Fromm