Chapter XII. Sociology

Before considering Freud's published contributions to sociology it will be well to give some account, however imperfect, of what is known about his personal attitude towards his fellow-beings. There is little doubt that it was one which had in important ways been influenced by the distressing experiences of his childhood and adolescence. The misery of poverty is never easy to bear; to a proud and sensitive boy it must have been a truly grievous affliction. He had to overcome the shock of the contrast between the esteem with which he was regarded in his own family, with the high hopes built on him, and the lowly position in which he found himself in the outer world. Possibly he was over-sensitive to the slights from better-off companions inseparable from that position; he certainly took every care later on to ensure that his children did not suffer in the same way. In a passage written in old age, which doubtless refers to his own experience, he said: ‘Anyone who has lived through the misery of poverty in his youth, and has endured the indifference and arrogance of those who have possessions, should be exempt from any suspicion of having no understanding of or goodwill towards the endeavours made to combat the economic inequality of men and all that it leads to.’1

Some letters, as yet unpublished, dating from Freud's puberty suggest that his first response to this state of affairs was a somewhat arrogant and defiant assertion of superiority. He wrote as if belonging to an aristocracy of intellect and education enabled him to feel disdain for the mass of people. In early manhood this disdain had vanished, and the disparaging attitude had become couched in moral in place of intellectual terms. A year after being engaged he wrote to his betrothed an illuminating letter which was quoted earlier.2 In it he maintained that the more civilized or refined one is the more does one devote oneself to avoiding pain rather than seeking pleasure. He came to think that this was chara