The Pathless Path - Paul Millerd

Partial Excerpts (antilibrary)

1. Introduction

Study hard, get good grades, get a good job. Then put your head down and keep going, indefinitely. This is what I call the “default path.”

The Positive Side of Freedom

The Positive Side of Freedom

fascinated writer Erich Fromm. In his book Escape from Freedom, he explores how millions across the world struggled to adapt to the newfound freedom they had in their lives in the 1930s

Well‑educated elites and business owners liberated from the rules of rigid institutions were thrilled, but many others were frustrated

the reason lied behind two different types of freedom. First was negative freedom or “freedom from” outside control. Second was positive freedom or the “freedom to” engage with the world in a way that is true to yourself.”

Fromm argued that those freed from oppression but unable to develop a positive version of freedom were destined to be filled with feelings of separateness and anxiety.

Now, not only political leaders offer narratives for interacting with the world, but also employers, companies, media outlets, and other institutions. Everyone gives you roadmaps

instead of having to develop your own agency, the respective institution will make you part of their special group

The problem with conformity, Fromm argued, is that it leads to an existence that is too rigid, routine, and predictable (NPC)