Erich Fromm: Having Mode

Image via WikipediaFromm argues that the having mode, or

the attitude centered on property and profit, necessarily produces the desire—indeed the need—for power … In the having mode, one’s happiness lies inone’s superiority over others, in one’s power, and in the last analysis, in one’s capacity to conquer, rob, kill. In the being mode it lies in loving, sharing, giving (86-87).

In this context it is important to note that when he talks about having as a mode of existence and experience, Fromm is talking about what he calls characterological having and not what he calls existential having.

Humans, as material beings, need to have certain things in an existential sense: like food, shelter and clothing.

But this is not the same thing as having to have in the sense of a character structure—the need to live through property relations and acquisition. Rather, what has happened in the ‘developed’ west is that we have created a world of practices and institutions whereby existential having in now predicated on characterological having, to the point where it is hard to see the distinction, and hard to contemplate the former without the latter. Yet they are conceptually and ontologically distinct. The relationship between them is contingent. In the ‘developed’ world, however, we have learned to live the relationship as though it were necessary.

Erich Fromm: Being Mode

Image by cruzarte via FlickrIn the being mode we are (our identity) what we express and enact in our relationships with others and the world. We do not have an ego and an identity based upon it. Rather, we be moment by moment in the ways we affirm our specifically human structure, which comprises ‘activity, critical thinking [and] faith in life’ (85). In the being mode individuals are indeed identifiable and identified. But identity simply is not for them an issue like it is in the having mode, where identity s constructed as a possession we are encouraged to invest in and draw upon.
Beings who are continually actively engaged in affirming their capacities have no need to possess and identity, not least because they are not in competition with others for scarce resources (prestige, status, power, possessions) out of which to carve identity or in pursuit of which to draw on identity. They can just get on with living, as do others around them. In this way they are able to cooperate, share, enter egalitarian relationships, help, encourage, and support others because being is not a zero sum game.

When there is no money there is ART and SPIRITUALITY

Image via Wikipedia
These are hard times for many people who have lost their jobs and losing their homes.  Even for people with jobs its hard as there is very little money to go around for recreational activities.
So what is there to take place of the void, vacancy and emptiness in our lives.

There is art and time to make it.

This is a great time to create, in fact being creative can be so therapeutic and helpful to people.  Things like writing, painting, photography, drawing, sculpting.  Maybe its a form of going back to the basic to when we were young and we were happy playing with the card board box the toy we got for Xmas came in.  Its more about doing, experiencing, sharing, and learning from others than getting and buying stuff.

In a recent episode of CSI I learned about Eric Fromm's theories of

The being and having modes. Two modes are competing for the spirit of humanity. The having mode relies on the possessions that a person has. It is the source of the lust for power and leads to isolation and fear. The being mode, which depends solely on the fact of existence, is the source of productive love and activity and leads to solidarity and joy. Responding spontaneously and productively and having the courage to let go in order to give birth to new ideas. We are all capable of both these modes, but society determines which will dominate.
I think our society is heavy on the having and not so much on the being.  As more people define themselves by what they have not what they have experienced.  So we can work on our spirit.
'm not necessarily talking about Church or religion, but anything that will give the spritin energy like reading, since libraries are free, or exercising doing some yoga pilates or tai chi.  All these things cost little to nothing.  But I know that in world where money is so prized for our distractions it would be hard to simply do these simple things and slow down.
It reminds me a little of when the Grinch stole Xmas from the whooville.  But int he end the who people simply sang and had a good time anyway without all the material stuff.  Maybe life is telling us to let go of all the shit and simply find the simple stuff in our lives.  Like knitting.
MORE FROM ERICH FROMM

In other words, both tendencies—to have, expressed in possessive individualism and to be—expressed in sharing, giving, and even sacrificing—are ‘present in human beings’. These opposed and opposing tendencies owe their strength to different aspects of human nature and the human condition. That is, so far as human constitution is concerned, we are ‘set up’ with the potential to orient ourselves to self and world in either the having or the being mode. Given this, Fromm concludes that whichever orientation prevails within a society will be shaped by ‘the social structure, its values and norms’.
Cultures that foster the greed for possession, and this the having mode of existence, are rooted in one human potential; cultures that foster being and sharing are rooted in the other potential