Up next for #bookstr is Understanding Human Nature by Alfred Adler.
A bit of a strange read 100 years on, Adler was to Freud as Hayek was to Keynes in their days.
That he was considered heterodox seems strange when you look around and see Devouring Mother Karen archetypes trying to destroy the West - he predicts women overcompensating for an inferiority complex and that’s certainly played out.
Where his critique is found lacking is his desire for the removal of the Chesterton’s Fence around traditional femininity and masculinity which he sees as purely a status thing. Just look around, it’s clear it wasn’t purely status but was a functional pillar that kept an equilibrium in society which whilst not perfect, did allow it to progress and grow.
To me, that left a cloud over his work. I can’t say the world would have been better off if Adler had been the dominant force in his field instead of Freud, like I confidently could say about Hayek over Keynes. Hayek was more aware of limitations whereas Adler doesn’t pay so much mind to them. But then again, I’m not as deep into the theory there as with economics.
Wouldn’t recommend this one, it will feel too obvious just from life experience for this to be of real value to anyone today.
