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February 17, 2026Journal of Humanistic Psychology0 citations

Social Pathology: Fromm, Robbins, and Neoliberal Negative Communities

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JNJeremy J. Northup

Key Points

  • The central aim is to examine Brent Robbins’ theories linking war, colonialism, and psychological diagnostics as social pathology.
  • Review of Brent Robbins’ theoretical frameworks and concepts.
  • Analysis of Erich Fromm’s influence on Robbins’ ideas.
  • Discussion on the implications of neoliberal negative communities as a relational horizon.
  • Robbins’ work highlights war, colonialism, and psychological issues as interconnected forms of social pathology.
  • Erich Fromm’s ideas are pivotal in understanding contemporary social defects.
  • The concept of neoliberal negative communities offers a new perspective on societal relationships.

Abstract

This paper overviews Brent Robbins’ theoretical work on war, colonialism, anesthetic culture, and contemporary psychological diagnostics as forms of social pathology. It argues that Robbins is philosophically and ethically indebted to the work of Erich Fromm, in particular his concepts of normative humanism, pathological normalcy, and socially patterned defects. Finally, this paper suggests that a horizon of relationality called neoliberal negative communities could and should be added to the social pathological ledger.

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Cite This Study

Jeremy J. Northup (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/699405494e9c9e835dfd621dhttps://doi.org/10.1177/00221678261421343
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