Drawing on the relevant literature, the authors of this paper explore the interpretations of the concept of love in the theories of Erich Fromm and Pitirim Sorokin. Using a comparative historical method and a hermeneutic approach, they analyze the similarities and differences in how the concept of love is understood in their respective texts. Both thinkers share a critical attitude towards contemporary society: while Fromm criticizes its deep alienation, Sorokin focuses on the non-solidaristic nature of the consumer capitalist system. Fromm, as a social psychologist and representative of critical theory, understands love as a capacity that must be cultivated within the context of interpersonal relationships. In contrast, Sorokin, a sociologist of culture, rejects the views of Marxist and Freudian followers and develops the idea of love as a transcendent force with the potential for the moral and social renewal of humanity, consistent with his cyclical theory of social development.
Nedeljković et al. (Wed,) studied this question.