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The point is that in a system such as Fromm's which recognizes unconscious motivations, and which rests on certain ethical absolutes, empirical data can be used to support whatever proposition the writer is urging at the moment.

Thus, in the example cited above Fromm rests his whole case on the premise that the workers are being deprived unconsciously, unknowingly, of fulfillment, and then supports this with survey data reporting conscious, experienced frustrations.

He has his cake and eats it too: if the workers say they are dissatisfied, this shows conscious alienation ; ;

if they say they are satisfied, this shows unconscious alienation.

This sort of manipulation is especially troublesome in Fromm's work because, although his system is derived largely from certain philosophic convictions, he asserts that it is based on empirical findings drawn both from social science and from his own consulting room.

While the `` empirical psychoanalytic '' label which Fromm claims sheds no light on the validity of his underlying philosophy, it does increase the marketability of his product.