In his 1976 book, “To Have or To Be”, Erich Fromm establishes a crucial difference between what he calls two modes of existence. These are forms in which we relate to the world: the life-long dichotomy between materialism and idealism. For Fromm, most of modern society’s anguish and problems stem from a modal confusion: thinking that we can substitute one with the other.
A Material Girl in a Material World
The industrial revolution and modern economic theory produced incredible results, lifting humanity out of a feudal system of poverty and subsistence. People suddenly started having a high enough caloric intake to start thinking about doing other things. The world exploded: our energy and consumption needs skyrocketed as the globe developed into an industrial, interconnected web of economic interests.
However, the extreme productivity and growth models became preponderant, as they are today. The only measures we seem to have for anything are the bloody KPIs, or sales, or ratings. All our exchanges have been reduced to a transactional logic, where we trade followers, contacts, our consumer habits and purchases.
This will come as a revelation to no one, but the utopia of an economic system liberating Man from the travails of work never materialized. How could it? Capitalism’s goal isn’t to pander to your needs and make you hit a materialistic plateau; its goal is to keep on growing. Capitalism is an existential hydra that will infect everything human and try to transform it into a numbered value. Anything we do within the system will be monetized sooner or later.
A Material Girl on Meds
The problem with an existential mode based on having, as Fromm says, is that modal confusion will create distress and anguish. We’ve reduced all life to having things, even though everybody knows “money can’t buy happiness”. We know material things can’t answer existential questions, yet we keep on insisting on material solutions. What happens when you confuse these two modes?
The archetypal modal confusion in our post-capitalistic society is the substitution of love for sex. Failing to fall in love, Man tries to fill this existential hole with having plenty of sex. The having mode tries to compensate the being mode: since you can’t be in love, you might as well have a bunch of love-making, which then depresses you more and makes you slide further down the hole of self-deprecation.
We also tend to sublimate society’s glorification of youth through material things. Since I can’t be young anymore, I’ll compensate by having a Lamborghini and pretending I’m still young and hip.
When all this fails and you’re left with a huge existential crisis, what do we do? We try to cure the being mode by having meds. Not feeling to well? Have this Xanax. Don’t know what you’re doing with your life? Have a pill. Isn’t that much better, now?
Rebuilding existence
I’m deeply convinced many of our problems (I’d say the majority) stem from the having mode infecting all our existence. From mental health issues in developed countries, to environmental concerns about our planet’s resources, we won’t be able to pave the way to a new existential mode until we do away with the material approach to all aspects of life. For example, I’m very critical of the “science will fix it” line of thinking towards global warming. I mean, yes, maybe some genius scientist will invent a huge A.C. system for the whole planet. Then what? Keep on consuming at an even faster pace? Changing phones every six months? Create growth and the illusion of development by purchasing low-quality trinkets cheap from Asia?
The change has to come from within: from a fundamental rejection of the having mode for many of our experiences, in favor of the being mode. I’m not saying we should all be hippies or that machines are worthless. But between claiming the best musical artist is the one who sells the most auto-tuned bling-bling garbage, and having a hippie bonfire where everyone plays terrible music, there has to be a middle ground.
Enjoy the summer, try to become something, to learn a trade, to visit a museum or listen to good music.
Essentially, instead of merely ‘having’ a cock, one should strive to ‘be’ a genuine motherfucker :-D
Great read! Even though it’s kinda rudimentary for the initiated, it flows nicely and touches on the fulcrum points of why our lives suck and how we can transform them out of capitalist dogma and towards a higher being ✊