Erich Fromm was a member of the Frankfurt School, a group of influential critical theorists associated with the Institute for Social Research at Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany. Fromm worked at the Institute from 1929 to 1933, and during that time he collaborated closely with other prominent members of the School such as Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, and Herbert Marcuse.
Fromm's departure from the Frankfurt School was a result of political and personal differences with some of the other members. In particular, Fromm disagreed with the School's increasing emphasis on Marxist theory and the idea that revolutionary political action was the only solution to social problems. Fromm believed that individual psychological and emotional factors were also important in shaping social behavior, and that social change could be achieved through a combination of individual and collective action.
Fromm also had personal conflicts with some of the other members of the School, including Adorno and Horkheimer, who criticized his work and questioned his commitment to Marxist ideology. Fromm eventually left the Institute in 1933 and moved to the United States, where he continued his work as a social psychologist and became a prominent public intellectual.
