In his books, the psychoanalyst Eric Fromm It not only talks about the power of love and how it transforms people since it is not a passive feeling or a fleeting emotion, but an art that requires knowledge, practice, discipline and will, but also addresses issues that impact society and criticizes mass psychology and the human condition. Just along those lines, today I bring you one of his most powerful phrases: “There is nothing inhuman, evil or irrational that does not produce some kind of comfort if done in a group”. In this note I explain what it means.
The fear of “moral loneliness” and the “comfort” of the dilution of guilt
Fromm argues that human beings have a deep terror of separation and isolation, something he defines as moral loneliness or social isolation. Being alone in front of the world generates intolerable anguish. Therefore, the group acts as a protective shield. If the entire group performs a heinous action, the individual does not feel alone or judged; you feel safe and validated.
This is where guilt also appears, since when we commit an evil or irrational act individually, the weight of it and self-responsibility destroys us. However, when doing it in a group, the “comfort” of shared responsibility occurs. If everyone does it, the weight is divided among thousands, and the individual conscience becomes numb. The group magically transforms the inhuman into “the normal.”
By doing an evil or irrational act as a group, the “comfort” of shared responsibility occurs. (Photo: Ron Lach / Pexels)
Why the group generates comfort
Solace in the group acts as a moral and emotional anesthetic, allowing individuals to dilute their personal responsibility and find validation in acts that, alone, they would reject with horror.
And, when the blame is distributed among many, the weight carried by each individual seems to vanish. If everyone is responsible, no one feels truly responsible.
If an entire group validates something crazy or cruel, the brain encodes that approval as “safety” and “truth,” alleviating the anxiety of doubt. (Photo: Brayan Chul / Pexels)
This is based on the fact that human beings seek to belong and if an entire group validates something that may be cruelty or madness, the brain encodes that approval as “security” and “truth”, alleviating the anxiety of doubt.
For many, sharing hate, fear, or bigotry with others creates a false sense of purpose and relief, transforming dark emotions into a bond of community unity.
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