Erich Fromm

As part of my ongoing interest in the social sciences I have turned towards studying the individual - namely psychology. Erich Fromm was what you'd call a second generation psychologist, that being he came after Freud and Jung and built upon their ideas while taking things in a different direction. Most of his works are best described as social psychology dealing with the relationship between the individual and society. I'm currently reading "Escape From Freedom." Here's the synopsis from the back cover :

If a man cannot live with freedom, he will probably turn fascist.
This concise statement reflects the essential idea in ESCAPE FROM FREEDOM, Erich Fromm's most famous and very likely his most important book. Using the fundamentals of psychoanalysis as probing agents, Dr. Fromm reveals the illness of contemporary civilization as seen by its willingness to submit to totalitarian rule. While the rise of democracy set certain men free in a political sense, it has simultaneously given birth to a society in which the individual feels isolated, dehumanized and alienated.
This situation has frequently resulted in blind devotion to a Leader, abject submission to an all-powerful State and barbarous policies of aggression and mass murder.

If you are interested in this sort of thing he has written quite a few books which have some very powerful messages. Of note:
"To have or To Be?"
"The Art of Loving"
"The Sane Society"
"Escape From Freedom"