評論
打印
Our Way of Life Makes Us Miserable
我們的生活方式把人害苦了
Erich Fromm
埃里希·弗洛姆
Most Americans believe that our society of consumption-happy, fun-loving ,jet-traveling people creates the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Contrary to this view，I believe that our present way of life leads to increasing anxiety，helplessness and，eventually，to the disintegration of our culture. I refuse to identify fun with pleasure, consumption with joy, busyness with happiness，or the faceless，buck-passing " organization man " with an independent individual.
大多數美國人以為，在我們的社會里，人們熱衷于消費、喜歡玩樂、乘坐噴氣式飛機旅行， 這就為最大多數人創造了最大的幸福。與這一觀點相反，我認為，我們目前的生活方式導致憂 慮與日俱增、自立能力喪失，最終致使我們的文化解體。我并不認為玩樂即愉悅、消費即歡樂、忙碌即幸福，也不把缺乏個性、推卸責任的"組織人"與獨立自主的個人混為一談。
From this critical view our rates of alcoholism, suicide and divorce, as well as juvenile delinquency，gang rule, acts of violence and indifference to life, are characteristic symptoms of our "pathology of 10 normalcy". It may be argued that all these pathological phenomena exist because we have not yet reached our aim，that of an affluent society. It is true, we are still far from being an affluent society. But the material progress made in the last decades allows us to hope that our system might eventually produce a materially affluent society. Yet will we be happier then? The example of Sweden, one of the most prosperous, democratic and peaceful European countries, is not very encouraging: Sweden, as is often pointed out, in spite of all its material security has among the highest alcoholism and suicide rates in Europe, while a much poorer country like Ireland ranks among the lowest in these respects. Could it be that our dream that material welfare per se leads to happiness is just a pipe dream?...
從這一批評性的觀點來看，我們社會中的酗酒人數、自殺率、離婚率、少年犯罪、黑社會統治、暴力行為、對生活的冷漠態度等，都是我們"通常病變"的典型癥狀。有人或許會爭辯，這些病態現象之所以存在，是因為我們尚未達到我們的目標——建成富足社會。誠然，我們還遠遠算不上富足社會，但過去幾十年中取得的物質進步足以使我們期盼，我們的制度有可能最終建 立起一個物質上富足的社會。然而，到那時我們是否會幸福一點呢？瑞典是歐洲最繁榮、最民主、最愛和平的國家之一，而該國的例子卻并不怎么令人鼓舞：正如人們經常指出的那樣，盡管瑞典在物質方面完全有保障，但其酗酒人數與自殺率在歐洲國家中屬最高之一，而如愛爾蘭這樣貧困得多的國家在這些方面的比率卻在最低之列。我們所持的物質福利本身能帶來幸福的夢想，會不會只是一個不切實際的幻想呢？……
