ERICH FROMM’S CONCEPT OF SELF–DETERMINATION AND PRODUCTIVITY AS A CRITICAL LENS INTO DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

Erich Fromm developed a concept of socialism that centres on the development of the human capacity for self–determination based on critical education, the cultivation of rationalism and empathy, and an orientation of productivity. While the new and emerging digital technologies promise to dramatically increase human productivity by incorporating AI into all aspects of life (work and recreation), Fromm’s definition of what constitutes a truly productive orientation differs significantly from what digital technologies have come to represent at our current juncture. To Fromm, productivity was not merely a quantitative metric but most of all a qualitative category that emphasised the full development of human creativity and liberation from alienation and submission to the myriad overt and anonymous authorities in people’s lives, ranging from corporate and political structures all the way to public opinion, cultural patterns, and perceptions of ‘common sense.’ To Fromm, anything that did not directly originate from the mental and emotional experiences of humans was superimposed on them by external authorities and would deprive them of their capacity of self–determination. My paper explores to what degree digital technologies in educational institutions, such as colleges and universities, encourage or limit a productive engagement with knowledge acquisition and production.