gree that I shall provide such and such, and you in return shall provide this and that. If one of us fails to hold up our end of the arrangement, the marriage is null and void. This, according to Fromm, is the orientation of the modern industrial society. This is all of society’s orientation!This modern type comes out of the cool withdrawing family, and tends to use automaton conformity as its escape from freedom. In extreme, the marketing person is opportunistic, childish, and tactless. Less extreme, and he or she is purposeful, youthful, and social. Notice today's values as expressed to us by our mass media: Fashion, fitness, eternal youth, adventure, daring, novelty, sexuality... these are the concerns of the "yuppie," and his or her less-wealthy admirers. The surface is everything.5. The productive orientation. There is a healthy personality, which Fromm occasionally refers to as the person without a mask. This person nevertheless does not shirk away from freedom and responsibility. This person comes out of a family that loves without overwhelming the individual that prefers reason to rules, and freedom to conformity. The society that gives rise to the productive type does not exist yet, according to Fromm. He calls it humanistic communitarian socialism. That's quite a mouthful, so, humanistic means oriented towards human beings, and not towards some higher entity -- not the all-powerful State or someone's conception of God. Communitarian means composed of small communities (Gesellschaften, in German), as opposed to big government or corporations. Socialism means everyone is responsible for the welfare of everyone else. Thus understood, it is hard to argue with Fromm's idealism.Fromm says that the first four orientations are living in the having mode. They focus on consuming, obtaining, possessing.... They are defined by what they have. Fromm says that "I have it" tends to become "it has me," and we become driven by ...
